Between Two Men
by lettersincognito
Summary: Emma Pillsbury finds herself in a sticky situation, Will Schuester learns that he can't always get what he wants, Terri is getting up to no good and there's a new kid on the block! Lines are being crossed, hearts are being broken and secrets are revealed.
1. Chapter 1

**I don't own any of these characters! Just the story is mine. Hope you enjoy!**

**--**

She was happy, she was finally happy.

After so many months of lonely nights and cold mornings, Emma Pillsbury had exactly what she had always dreamed of. She was in love with the most wonderful man and he loved her back. Finally.

"What's with the dreamy face, Em?"

Emma looked up from her desk, suddenly very embarrassed having been caught day-dreaming. He wasn't supposed to be here yet, he had said 5:30pm and it was only 5:15! She hadn't finished up filing her notes for tomorrow and she wouldn't be able to sleep unless she did.

"Were you thinking of me, hmm? About how lucky you are to have a man like me so madly in love with you?"

She smiled, refusing to acknowledge him, the gorgeous man who had managed to mess up her schedule yet again. She had told him so many times how important being on time was to her, not too early, certainly not late, but on time. Sighing, she stood up and placed her notes in the filing cabinet by her desk, still not looking him in the eye.

"Aw, come on Em, you can't ignore me forever. You're a terrible grump, you and I both know that. Besides, I've got some great news! But I suppose if you really want nothing to do with me..."

Emma resisted the urge to stomp her foot on the ground in defeat. He knew how curious she was, damn him! But he was right, she was terrible at acting mad.

"Oh alright... what's your great news?"

He smiled and stalked over to her, placing his hands firmly on her hips. Emma smiled and breathed in the scent of him – a smell that seemed so familiar, as if they had known each other longer than only 6 months, 4 days and 3 hours.

"I got it. I got the job! I'm finally gonna have a job that I love, Em! Can you believe it? And it's all thanks to you!"

He lifted her up off the ground, still holding her to him. She couldn't help but laugh out loud as he twirled her around in her small office, her buttercup yellow skirt transforming into a whirlwind of colour surrounding them. She was happy for him, he had been looking for a job for a few months now, after she had convinced him to leave his old job, the one that made him so miserable.

Emma herself had left her old job after a messy break-up with a co-worker. It was her fault, of course, she had sacrificed everything for love and had ended up hurting Ken, who was a truly kind man, albeit somewhat different from her usual type. She sighed, remembering the pain in his eyes as he walked away from her. The last she had heard, Ken had resigned from McKinley as soon as she had left.

"What's wrong? Did I say something to upset you? Don't worry, I washed my hands, I'm clean as a whistle, cross my heart."

He looked genuinely concerned, and Emma felt a little guilty for worrying him so much. She really had to work on her day-dreaming, it was getting ridiculously distracting.

"It's nothing, I was just remembering, uh, something. It's nothing serious, sorry for being such a spoil sport. I'm so happy for you, honestly! This is incredible... you're going to love your new job at McKinley High." She smiled.

"Have I ever told you how beautiful you look, Em? You're absolutely gorgeous when you smile."

Emma felt the colour rise in her cheeks and she buried her face in his chest. She was never good at taking compliments; she was such an awkward person, never quite knowing how to react. It was in her experience that sometimes people didn't always mean what they said. Her teenage years had taught her that.

"Oh, stop it. If anything, you're the real catch in this relationship. All sorts of women are lining up for you, and it seems you're the only guy who ever notices me. I'm lucky you haven't gotten bored to death yet."

Truth be told, Emma was always in fear of this wonderful man leaving her. Things just seemed too good to be true, and things were never ever 'too good' for Emma Pillsbury. Chances were, if it sounded too good to be true, it wasn't. However, 6 months, 4 days and 3 hours of bliss with this man was starting to prove her wrong.

He pulled her closer to him, cupping the small of her back as he did so, "perhaps you should start making things a little more interesting then, hmm? You know... just in case." He winked, and nudged her gently against the office door. Alarm bells started ringing in her ears as she realized what he was doing.

"I, uh, I.. we, umm, we shouldn't. Not here, this is my office. You know, uh, school kids come here for.. umm.. guidance and it's my job to provide them with-"

Before she could finish the sentence, he had both her arms by her sides, holding them in place firmly by the wrists, and was kissing a lazy trail down her neck to her collar bone.

"What was that you were saying? Do carry on, I'm listening.." He continued with the kisses, this time letting his hands roam higher, painfully close to the first few buttons of her matching blouse-skirt combo. This was a bad idea, she shouldn't let him continue. A part of her knew she should resist, this was a school and what they were doing was outrageously improper. She breathed in heavily and willed her arms from her sides and up towards his own.

"We, we need to stop. Not here, not right now, okay? Just.. uh, can we wait till we get home? It's not that I don't want to, ahem, because I, uh, I do, I really do, it's just that, umm.."

"Em?"

"Y-yes?"

"Shut up." With that, he pushed his body against her own and kissed her.


	2. Chapter 2

**All the characters belong to Glee! Only the story is mine :)**

--

A fresh year, a fresh start.

Not to mention a brand new office. Will Schuester couldn't help but grin as he let himself relax into the new brown leather chair that sat behind his newly polished desk in his newly furnished _Principles_ _office_.

After the big mess with Terri, who he had left immediately, Will decided he needed a change of scene, which meant he had to leave McKinley High as soon as he possibly could. However, not long after he had handed in his resignation, he received the offer to take over as principle from the former principle himself. It wasn't exactly what he had planned, but nothing was ever perfect and being principle meant that he could now make the rules and maybe finally put a stop to Sue Sylvester and her crusade against the Glee kids.

There was a knock on the door as none other than Rachel waltz in, big grin on her face.

"Oh please, do come in." Will managed to smile, apparently nothing much had changed after all.

"No thank you, Mr. Schuester, this will only take a minute. I'd just like to say that I'm positively ecstatic to hear the news of you being the new principle of McKinley High, I'm sure you'll do a more than superb job. I do, however, worry about Glee club. As you know, it is my duty as captain of the Glee club to ensure that we have someone fit to become the new coordinator so that we.."

Will put up his hand to stop her, "Rachel, no need to worry. I've already sorted that out. I'll be able to stay on with Glee, we'll just have to change practice from Thursday to Tuesday instead."

"Sorry, Mr. Schuester, but that's not going to work with my busy schedule. I have a vigorous badminton game every Tuesday afternoon with my dads and they'd be very, very disappointed if I skipped those just because you.."

Will shook his head and laughed, things definitely hadn't changed. Not yet anyway.

"Rachel, stop right there. Is Monday okay then? You don't have to do Tuesdays if you're too busy."

She smiled wildly, said thank you then promptly strode out of his office, only to be replaced by the _last_ person he wanted to see – Sue Sylvester.

He we was about to say hello, to straighten things out with her, but she beat him to it.

"Look, cupcake, if you think being Principle of McKinley High stops you from being a pansy with a bad perm, then think again. This changes nothing, I'm still going to run you and your pathetic little glee club into the ground. That being said, welcome back. I sure hope you've got some heavy artillery hidden underneath that sweater vest of yours, because you are going down, Schuester."

Will shook his head in a mix of disbelief and amusement, watching as Sue disappeared amongst the sea of students preparing for their new school year. He had so much to sort out, and he had no idea where to even begin!

"Gotta stop thinking bad thoughts. This a new year, time for a positive start." Will told himself. The day had just begun and everything was already getting a bit stressful. Time to get down to business.


	3. Chapter 3

**All the characters belong to Glee! Only the story is mine :)**

--

"Yes, this is him speaking. I'd definitely be available tomorrow... just going over a few things? Should I bring anything, any documents you need to go over, anything like that? Oh, alright. See you tomorrow, yes, thank you very much."

"Who was that?" Emma asked, standing in the bedroom doorway, holding a brown mug in each of her hands. Green tea for her, black coffee for him. It was part of her morning routine.

"That was just work. Nothing to worry your pretty little head over."

Emma sighed in relief and strode over to his side of the bed, giving him a quick kiss and handing him his coffee.

"Honey, I don't mean to be such a nuisance, but don't you already have a prior engagement? You said you'd visit an old school friend of yours tomorrow, remember? As a surprise?"

He smiled and pulled her closer to him, making space for her on the bed, "don't worry, I've got everything sorted out, trust me. Still gonna visit me at work though? You should, I think it'd be great."

Emma paused for a bit, not really sure of what to say. "I'm not sure that would be the smart thing to do. There's no use re-opening old wounds.."

"Come on, Em! You know it's a great idea, I can see it in your eyes every time you talk about McKinley. You miss that place, and you miss it a lot. No point in denying it, I can read you like a book and at the moment the page I'm reading is saying you desperately want to visit some old memories. Besides, I'll be there if you need me. I'm always going to be here for you, Em, I hope you know that."

"I suppose you're right, I am being a little ridiculous about it," she agreed, "what time should I stop by? Around lunch? I could bring you some of those cucumber sandwiches you like so much." She smiled down at him and stood up, only to be pulled back down by the sash of her robe.

"Hmm... why don't you surprise me instead? I'm starting to get a little bored of those cucumber sandwiches.."

Something told her that he wasn't just talking about lunch anymore. She grabbed his mug and set it on the bedside table, along with her own mug and let herself fall gently on top of him, closing her eyes as he shifted her more comfortably against his body. She felt her body immediately tense as he began to run lazy circles across her back with his hands. He was completely insatiable sometimes.

"... any suggestions?" She mused.

He gave her a wicked grin and rolled them over. Lifting her face to his, like a flower to the sun, she was waiting for his kiss when he surprised her by suggesting softly, "Why don't _you_ kiss _me_?"

Emma's eyes flew to his mouth, a mouth that made her whole body shiver; she hesitated for an instant, finding herself oddly shy. Then, gathering her courage, she brought his mouth down to hers and lightly touched her lips against his.

For a moment he remained completely still, making no effort to kiss her back, and, disconcerted, she was about to pull back when his lips moved in response, returning the slight pressure. At first his kiss was chaste, but soon it changed to teasing and sensual as his mouth coaxed hers to part and he ran the tip of his tongue delicately along the silky inner skin of her upper lip. While his kisses became ever more tantalising and erotic, he withdrew his hands from her sides and unfastened her robe. She now lay in a pool of morning light, her whole body waiting, anticipating, responsive to his every move.

"Going too fast for you?," he asked gently.

"No."

He couldn't help but laugh a little, "That's my girl."

While one hand lingered on her breast to tease a pink nipple between his finger and thumb, the other moved down to her stomach. When his exploring fingers found the warm, satiny skin of her inner thighs, she couldn't repress a gasp.

"Get ready for it," he warned softly, and, nuzzling his face against her breast, laved the erect nipple before taking it into his mouth.

It seemed as if everything around her was disappearing in a haze of ecstasy, and, turning her head from side to side on the pillow, she began to make soft mewling sounds deep in her throat. The exquisite sensations he was creating were growing, tightening, and escalating until her entire being was concentrated on the release of that spiralling pleasure.

When it happened, her eyes closed, her whole body rigid now, helpless in the grip of such intense delight, she cried out.

For a while she lay quivering, before becoming quiet and still, utterly relaxed, lapped in a bliss as sensual and satisfying as a warm, scented bath. When she opened her eyes, she found him looking down at her, his expression oddly tender.

"PB&J, please," he said simply.

Emma raised an eyebrow in confusion, "sorry... beg your pardon?"

"I'd like a PB&J sandwich instead of my usual cucumber ones. That _was_ what we were discussing, remember?"

---

**Hope you guys like this chapter! It's only a snippet of what's yet to come ;)**

**Please don't forget to review! **


	4. Chapter 4

**I don't own Glee or any of its characters!**

**This is a slightly longer chapter, but bear with me. Things are about to get a little more interesting!**

--

Will walked down the semi-empty halls of McKinley High with a certain skip to his step. His morning had certainly gotten off to pleasant start. It was in his honest opinion that there were not many things in the world that could beat a good PB&J sandwich. Ever since he had booted Terri out of his life, he got to have as many as he wanted. He couldn't help but smile knowingly.

With any luck, today was going to be hassle-free and without stress. He certainly needed it after a day like yesterday – too many slushies had been thrown, too much Sue Sylvester, not enough enthusiasm. He hadn't realized being Principle could be so, well, _difficult_. He had always imagined that being Principle meant having the privilege to relax in your chair behind your desk in a room with _no students_. However, he was completely mistaken, and he quickly learned this. Perhaps he was wrong in taking the job.

"No, I can't keep thinking like this. I'm going to make this work for me!"

"Talking to yourself, Schuester? I always knew there was something off about you.." Sue stood there, in her usual tracksuit get-up, holding a large glass of her protein shake, which she was sipping in between words.

"Oh, hey Sue. Didn't realize you were there. So, uh, how's your morning? Off to a good start?"

She scoffed and walked away, "quit trying, Schuester. You're never gonna get with someone as good as me, and besides, you're not my type, I don't date nice girls. Too sensitive."

Will stood still as she walked off, not knowing whether or not he should laugh or cringe. The things that woman said sometimes were completely ludicrous.

Brushing away what was no doubt becoming a Sue-Sylvester-daily-war, Will walked the final stretch to his office and sat down on the leather chair, swinging it from side to side as he turned on his computer, only to find he had several unread emails waiting for him. He clicked on the first one – it was from Terri.

So was the second one.

And the third one.

They were all basically the same, she wanted him back, she was so sorry, could they at least talk? Why wasn't he answering her calls?

Will sighed, knowing Terri wouldn't stop harassing him until he set her straight, which he thought he had already done, but apparently she needed to be set straight _again._ He picked up his cellphone and dialled.

"Hey, Terri. Yeah, I got your emails. Sorry, I've just been busy I guess. Umm, I was just calling to ask you if you could stop by this afternoon around lunch? I think we should talk. Yeah, okay, mhmm, sure, okay? Bye!"

Glad to be done with Terri for now, he set done his phone only to have it ring again. He answered it, a little annoyed, "Terri, this afternoon. I'm busy, can't it wait?"

"Excuse me?"

Realizing it wasn't Terri on the other line, Will quickly apologised, feeling rather foolish for half-yelling at a complete stranger.

"Will! Don't you know who this is? It's Paul!"

"Jesus, Paul! How long has it been? 3 years? It's great to hear from you! How've you been?"

"Good, great, just great. Hey, listen, this was supposed to be a surprise, but Ken told me I had a lot to sort out before my first day.."

Will paused for a moment, "Ken? Huh, what are you talking about?"

"I'm the guy who he got to replace him!"

Will's face broke out into a grin, this couldn't have been more perfect. Not only did he not have to find a replacement gym teacher, but now he had one of best friends on staff to lighten the load of dealing with Sue. He and Paul had been friends since highschool and they had only lost contact a few years ago when Paul moved to London for a teaching job. His day just kept getting better and better.

"That is the best thing I've heard all morning, Paul! So when are you coming in? Today? That's just perfect. How come you never told me you were back in town?"

"I'm actually staying at my girlfriend's place. Yeah, she's fantastic... I can't wait for you to meet her. Anyway, I better go get ready now. I'll see you real soon. Bye!"

Will couldn't believe his luck. Everything was perfect now! Although he had to deal with Terri in a few hours, the thought of catching up with Paul made life seem a little brighter.


	5. Chapter 5

**I don't own Glee or any of these characters! (except for Paul :P)**

--

Paul gave himself a quick once over in the mirror, making sure that he looked okay for his first day on the job. He hadn't seen Will in such a long time, and it was a strange feeling reuniting with someone who used to be like a brother to him.

People often told them they looked like brothers when they were younger, but things had certainly changed since then. In college, Paul had grown to become taller than Will by only an inch or two, you could only really tell when they stood next to each other. He had also somehow managed to tame his unruly hair, fortunately, unlike Will who most likely still had the same messy, curly hair Paul remembered him for.

He gave himself another quick glance in the mirror and laughed, knowing that he and Will probably still looked very much like brothers. Or maybe cousins.

He bounded downstairs and towards the front door, making sure to scribble a quick note, 'going to work today, see you later - Paul xo,' and leaving it on the countertop for a certain Miss who was probably still sleeping contently in bed.

--

Will waited anxiously at his usual table in the teachers' lounge, feeling about 10 years old again. Something this exciting hadn't happened since Terri announced she was pregnant. Just as that thought occurred, none other than Terri herself waltzed into the near-empty room. She wore some light blue jeans and a semi-tight pink blouse, obviously having no more reason to hide her stomach from his eyes. She looked well, he noted, and it appeared she had gone and bought new clothes for the occasion. Will almost felt guilty.

"Oh, hey Terri. Sit down, this won't take long."

He watched as she sat down slowly, keeping very quiet. She wasn't her usual self, then again, he hardly knew her anymore. She was a completely different person in his eyes now.

"Will, before you continue, can I just say something?"

Will started, but Terri cut him off, "I know what I did was wrong, it was deceitful and I hurt you. I hurt you, Will, and I robbed you of a fatherhood. I will always, _always_ blame myself for that."

"Look, Terri.."

"No, let me finish. I know that what I did was horrible and I'm going to work hard to gain your trust again, but I love you Will. I love you so, so much and I can't imagine my life without you. I don't even know why I get up in the morning! I can't live without you Will. If you'll just take me back, I swear on my life that I'll never do something like this to you ever again. I'll spend every waking moment trying to prove to you that I'm worth it, that what we had was, _is_, real. Just give me another chance Will, please?"

Her eyes were pleading, desperate for any sort of emotion from his own, but try as he might, he just couldn't. He couldn't see his wife anymore, there was no more love there. There wasn't even any pain. He had forgiven Terri a long time ago, for he wasn't one to hold grudges, and he had tried to find their love again. Countless nights were spent debating with himself, but there was nothing left for her. Terri was just a stranger now.

Just as Will was about to tell Terri his exact thoughts, none other than Paul walked in. He always did have perfect timing.

Relieved to have an excuse to postpone breaking the news to Terri, Will leaped from his chair and gave Paul a hug, both of them smiling, unable to find the words they wanted to say, ending up in a mix of jumbled 'hellos' and 'how are yous'. Will couldn't believe his eyes, Paul was really here and the very thought of it made all his problems with Terri seem to disappear. Finally, a friend he could trust and rely on!

"Will, let go man, I can't breathe!" Paul laughed.

Will let go, feeling suddenly a bit ridiculous. They both stood still, before Will remembered who was sitting behind him.

"Sorry, I'm being really rude here. Umm, Terri, this is my friend Paul. Paul, this is Terri, my, uh.."

"We were together." Terri finished for him.

Will scratched his, "heh, yeah."

Feeling there was some sort of tension between them, Paul immediately pulled out a seat next to Terri and opposite Will, hitting the tabletop and motioning for Will to sit down. Between the two of them, Paul was definitely the more relaxed one, if that was even possible.

"So, my God, how have things been with you? Principle? That's crazy, Will! Congratz man, you deserve it."

Will smiled ruefully, feeling pride swell up in him, "thanks Paul, it means a lot. But I've seriously had enough about hearing about me, how are _you?_ Anything exciting happen while you were overseas?"

"I'm great man, absolutely fantastic. I haven't been this happy since you and I, heh," realizing that Will's partner or ex-partner, he wasn't sure, was sitting listening to their conversation, Paul simply winked instead and said, "definitely gave them cheerleaders something to cheer about, didn't we?"

Will couldn't help but laugh out loud, Paul's idea of subtle was anything but and the look on Terri's face was absolutely priceless. The tension had finally begun to disappear, and he was slowly plucking up the courage to break up with Terri officially _again_. However, knowing how humiliating a public breakup could be, he stopped himself. There was a time and place for these sorts of things, and now was definitely not the time or place. Besides, why dampen the mood?

"Ahaha, yeah. They definitely did have some extra pep that day... anyway, Paul, anyone special in your life? Oh wait, you're staying with your girlfriend in town, aren't you? What's her name, you never told me?"

Just then, Paul's cellphone went off and he looked at both Will and Terri apologetically, "sorry guys, it's the missus, I've gotta take this."

Terri looked from Paul to Will then back to Paul.. then back to Will. The resemblance was uncanny, they were practically twins! If Paul had been sitting in the room alone, she'd probably have mistook him for Will.

Paul returned his phone to his pocket with a smile, "what a coincidence! That was just her, she's on her way. Sorry Will, forgot to tell you I was gonna have a visitor, hope you don't mind? She's only droppin' off some lunch for me then she'll probably be off real quick, she's a shy one."

There was a knock on the door which caused Will took look up, away from Paul. His jaw dropped slightly. It couldn't be..

Seeing the look on Will's face, Paul turned around and, realizing who was in the door way, stood up and walked briskly over.

"Will, Terri, I'd like you to meet my girlfriend."

--

**Don't forget to review!!!!**


	6. Chapter 6

**I don't own Glee!**

--

"_Emma?_"

There she stood, the infamous Miss Pillsbury, wearing a conservative knee-length, high-waisted, purple skirt, and a soft chemise white blouse, buttoned right up to the top, ending in a loosely ribboned bow at her neck. Her hair had grown a bit, falling just past her shoulders, strands of the bright orange curling in delicately, framing her face.

Will openly gaped, not really knowing what to say or how to react. How could he? He hadn't seen Emma in more than 6 months after Glee Club had won sectionals. It was as if every emotion he had long buried now came back in full force. Why had she left so quickly without a goodbye? Why hadn't she made any effort to contact him? Why, why, why? They were supposed to be friends.

Paul laughed lightly, hitting his forehead.

"Gah, Will! I forgot you guys used to work together. I guess there's no point in an introduction then, haha. Oh, but Emma... this is Terri."

The woman named pursed her lips and gave Emma a forced smile, "no need for introductions here either. I've seen enough of Miss Pillsbury to last me a lifetime."

Not catching the sneer in her voice, Paul grinned wildly and guided Emma to the seat opposite him and next to Will. He rubbed his hands together, very much enjoying the company. It was as if he was completely oblivious to the new found tension in the room.

Emma's breathing was slightly laboured, and she refused to look up, suddenly finding her hands extremely interesting. Will was sitting too close for comfort and so was Terri for that matter. She couldn't stand being in the room with them, it was too painful, too many things she had hoped would stay in the past were now slowly showing their ugly faces again. Emotions she didn't want to deal with anymore.

"Paul, dear, I've brought your lunch. I really have to get going now. Bye."

Paul captured her hand in his and motioned for her to sit back down, she was acting so strangely.

"Don't be silly, Em, you just got here! And you don't have to work till later, surely you could stay a while? Maybe you and Will could catch up a bit... hell, we could all catch up a bit! My bestfriend and my girl in the same room. What a day!"

Emma sat back down obediently, making an extra effort to not make any eye-contact with Will as she did so. She felt guilty, though she wasn't exactly sure why. It was _her_ heart that got broken when she left McKinley, it was _her_ feelings that had to be hidden and crushed while Will was with Terri, it was _her_tears that were shed. How could this be her fault at all? At first, she had tried to be angry, but anger wasn't part of her nature, so she resolved to just forget about him completely. She left McKinley as soon as possible, changing her home address and cellphone number so that he couldn't contact her. To her, Will Schuester was like an addiction. She had to get rid of him, because it hurt too much, far more than she'd ever be willing to admit.

Will noticed her fidgeting, he noticed the way her eyes always averted his. He was suddenly very aware of Emma. Her breathing, the way her hair fell in her face, the way she was subconsciously nibbling the bottom corner of her lip. She was uncomfortable, there was no doubt about that, but why? Was it really that bad to see him again? Will felt a mix of raw emotion swell up in him. Emma was the last person he had expected to walk through that door, the very thought of it was almost crazy. What were the chances of _Emma_ being with _Paul_, of all people? And what was that he was feeling... jealousy? Angered for feeling such an ugly emotion towards his bestfriend, Will quickly stomped on it and smiled. There was nothing he could do about the way things were. His friends, if Emma still considered herself his friend that is, were happy together and that's all that mattered.

"Heh, hey Emma. How've you been? It seems you've seen more of Paul than I have. Ha, what are the chances!"

Social conduct bid her to look up, and when she did she was greeted with the full force of everything she had ever felt for Will. He was looking at her intently, almost questioningly, as if she had some dirty secret she was hiding from him. Emma forced herself to smile and spoke quietly, as if speaking any louder would reveal to everyone in the room what she was feeling or thinking.

"Hi, Will... I've been good. You know, the usual work stuff. Students crying, students pregnant, students skipping class. All that, uh, student stuff. Congratulations on the new job Will, you'll be a great Principle, I just know it."

Will looked at her, her big doe eyes revealing far more than he was sure she wanted them to. She smiled innocently one last time before turning her attention to Paul. It was in that moment that Will truly felt the reality of this weird situation. She was _Paul's_. She belonged to someone else.

Will wasn't sure why it hurt so badly. He had never loved Emma, not really anyway, but he had always felt _something_ towards her. It was as if she was his property, as terrible as that sounded, and it felt wrong for her to be with anyone else. He felt protective of her, he convinced himself, what he was feeling was what friends felt towards other friends, right? Nothing more, nothing less. He just cared for her well-being, and if he knew Paul, Emma was being very well taken care of.

He hated the way that sounded in his head.

--

Terri could almost laugh at the turn of events. _Paul_, Will's bestfriend since highschool, was dating _Emma_. EMMA?!

She sat quietly, preferring to merely observe what was happening infront of her. The way Emma refused to look at her or Will, the way Will seemed to be unable to stop himself from looking disbelievingly from Emma to Paul. And what was that? Paul hadn't the faintest idea about just how close Emma and Will were? From experience, Terri knew how much being inbetween both Emma and Will could hurt... and keeping them apart could backfire on you.

She could feel the bile build up in the back of her throat. Emma and Will.. they were so sickening sometimes. They clearly felt something for each other but neither of them would admit it to themselves or to each other, almost as if they didn't have a clue. How could they _not_? Terri saw it before anyone else. It was too obvious, especially when she was able to observe them up close when she had briefly been the school nurse. She had even told Emma, that sneaky little minx, to keep her hands off Will, and what happened? Will leaves her!

"At least he didn't leave me for her."

Everyone at the table suddenly stopped their chatter and turned to face Terri, who only just realized she had thought outloud. She giggled and rolled her eyes, "haha, you know me... I'm just a little crazy today I guess. Haha!"

Paul looked at Terri, not bothering to hide the questioning look on his face. He quickly dismissed it and turned to Emma, who was looking at him expectingly, "better get going Em, shouldn't be late work! I'll see you later tonight." He winked and gave her a quick kiss before she got up and left the room hurriedly. He suspected she was worried about being late.

As Emma hurried herself out the door, she couldn't help but feel three pairs of eyes following her. This was not what she had expected from this, though what she _was_ expecting, she wasn't sure, all she knew was that she had to get as far away from Will Schuester as she possibly could.

--

**Hope you guys liked this chapter! And thanks for all the reviews, keep 'em coming! Any sort of input would be greatly appreciated. **

**For those of you who are slightly confused... I never stated that the man in the first chapters with Emma were actually Will. I never named him, but now you know that the man is actually Paul and NOT Will. Will hasn't seen Emma in nearly half a year!**

**Thanks for reading :)**


	7. Chapter 7

**I don't own Glee!**

**This is the longest chapter to date. It's a sort of backstory to Emma and Paul! I tried to shorten this down, so I hope it isn't too much. Enjoy :)**

--

As soon as she got inside her car and turned the ignition on, Emma heaved a sigh of relief. Words couldn't describe just how glad she was to be out of that room, she swore that you could literally feel the tension pressing down on you. It was too much for her to handle.

"Oh God... what am I supposed to do now?"

Paul had mentioned a best friend named Will before, but she had thought it merely a coincidence, not that it was _the_ Will Schuester. What were the chances, she thought sardonically, fate had definitely dealt her a downright cruel one. Just as things were starting to get more and more serious with Paul, _this_ had to happen.

--

Emma and Paul had met in London. After she had left McKinley, she had decided to take a full break and leave the country for a while, to clear her head. Her cousin, Rosie, had happily taken Emma in on such short notice. They were close, Rosie and she, and Emma had had such a fantastic time getting to know Rosie's husband Ian and their two twin daughters, Paige and Penny. Rosie was also especially good with dealing with breakups, having gone through many in her teenage years. Emma's situation wasn't exactly a breakup, though she mused it sure felt like one. Rosie had helped her get over Will when she thought it was never possible.

Rosie was perfect inside and out. She had the figure that many a woman would kill for – tall, slim, with legs that went on forever.. and she had a face to match. Emma had often noticed that men paid a bit too much attention to Rosie, but Rosie was good natured and let it all slide, even flirting a little, but not enough to worry Ian. Rosie and Ian were completely in love, it was evident in the way they couldn't keep their hands off each other, the way Ian would call her 'darling' and the way Rosie would look into his eyes from across the room. Emma had more than often caught herself feeling envious of their relationship, it was the sort of love every little girl dreamt of having. Emma wasn't so lucky, being around Rosie meant men never noticed her, mousy, shy, little Emma Pillsbury.

That all changed when Paul came into the picture.

Emma had been dragged along to some boring function that Rosie was obligated to go to. It was their third night out in a row, and Emma had felt tired, but Rosie insisted that she come along.

"I have someone I want you to meet.."

Emma groaned, "Rosie! I told you, I'm not ready for a relationship right now. No, I don't want to go. Please don't make me?" Her voice was pleading.

Rosie grinned wickedly, "_Emma_, you're not getting any younger. You're in your prime and you're letting your life go to waste. Come on, it'll be fun, I promise.. and the bloke I want you to meet is a real catch. I mean, if I wasn't already with Ian.." She winked.

Emma giggled and rolled her eyes, "_fine_, but this is the last guy I'm going to let you set me up with, okay?"

Unlike Rosie, who was daring in her choice of dress, Emma wore a conservative little periwinkle blue number made of lace and chiffon which came in at the waist and fell just above her knees. She didn't look half as good as her dear cousin, she thought sadly, but she at least looked _nice_, which was better than nothing. Rosie, on the other hand, had donned a slim-fitting velvet red dress, which was not tooout-there, but it certainly wasn't just _nice_. It was exactly like Rosie – stunning. Emma had remembered sighing throughout the whole cab drive.

When they had reached their destination, Rosie clapped her hands together in delight, quickly ushering Emma out of the cab and paying the driver. Emma was literally dragged up the stairs leading to what appeared to be a really fancy looking hotel – the sort you might imagine high society members vacationing. As they stepped through the large oak doors, Emma gasped. The place was absolutely stunning, and there she was thinking it'd be a semi-formal event with only a few people turning up. How wrong she was, the place was buzzing with excitement!

"Emma, honey, over here!"

Emma whirled around, trying to find Rosie amongst the crowd. She was always disappearing on her! Finally, she spotted the tall brunette, who was waving frantically at her, smiling. Emma excused her way through the swarm of people and straightened out her skirt as she reached her. Rosie looped her arm around Emma's and brought forward a tall looking man. When he turned his darkly handsome head from where he'd been looking over to one side, Emma's eyes widened. Maybe Rosie had got it right this time.

"Emma, I'd like you to meet Daniel. Daniel, this is my cousin Emma, she's visiting from the States."

Daniel took Emma's hand in his far larger ones, and Emma had to resist the urge to pull them back instinctively – she still didn't have full control over her germ phobia. Instead of pulling back, she squeezed his hand gently and let go, pulling both her arms back to her sides and smiled awkwardly. This man was gorgeous! Far too good for a woman like Emma.

Daniel grinned, "my, Rosie, you never told me your whole family was so good looking! You two are like sisters."

_Yeah right_, Emma thought sarcastically.

Daniel lead Emma away by her elbow, quickly saying goodbye to Rosie, "hope you don't mind, Rosie, but I think Emma and I are gonna spend a little one-on-one time together. Don't worry, nothing too bad, just chatting.."

Despite her initial doubt, Emma slowly found herself feeling at ease around Daniel during the course of the night. He was very charming and always knew what to say. Emma couldn't help but think he was _the_ perfect gentlemen. He showed her around the room and introduced her to the other guests, listened when she spoke and always made sure she wasn't thirsty by topping up her glass of champagne when she was running low. Emma felt positively spoilt.

"Daniel, I'm just going to pop off to the bathroom for a second. Got to powder my nose. I'll be right back." She smiled sweetly, feeling all of a sudden giddy, and left Daniel to continue his conversation with his friends.

When she reached the bathroom, she was assaulted with a high pitched wail, followed by a very loud, "FUCK THIS SHIT!" then a very loud slam. Emma walked in cautiously, not knowing what to expect. She breathed out in relief when she saw the bathroom was empty, except for a rather annoyed looking woman in black. Emma decided it was best to mind her own business.

The other woman suddenly turned towards Emma and spoke, "this is just like him, men are so fucking typical! All they want is sex and as soon as you throw yourself at them, they reject you. It's always fucking mind games with them. I never know what they fucking want! I'm through with this, I'm through with _him_!!!"

Emma stood there stunned, not knowing whether or not she should help console the woman, or simply hurry out for dear life. She chose the latter.

"I beg your pardon, I'm not so sure I know what you're talking about.."

The woman laughed, "well of course you don't Cinderella! Look at you, all precious and innocent in your little flower girls outfit. How old are you, 7?"

Taken a back, Emma was about to defend herself when she suddenly thought against it. This woman was clearly drunk or angry.. maybe both. Getting in her way was the last thing Emma wanted to do, her night was going perfectly well and she wouldn't let a stranger's horrible words ruin it for her. She simply nodded her head, applied another coat of lipgloss and walked out of the bathroom, dignity intact.

As she neared Daniel and his group of friends, she heard something that stopped her dead in her tracks.

"I've got her right where I want her. You should see her man, sickly sweet, yeah, like something outta a fairytale! It's a joke, I tell ya, but she's like putty in my hands. What man could resist? Not bad looking either, she's like a less impressive version of Rosie. Yeah, she's Rosie's cousin. You know the one, the girl with the bright red hair. Yup, that's her. Ahaha, looks as if I'm gonna be getting lucky tonight!"

Emma couldn't believe what she was hearing. How could she have gotten him so wrong? He wasn't a gentleman at all, he was absolutely vile! Hot tears pricked the corners of Emma's eyes, and she quickly brushed them away and went to go find Rosie. She had to leave immediately!

She frantically searched the room and in the hotel lobby, but there was absolutely no sign of her cousin anywhere. Emma frowned in defeat and walked out to the hotel balcony for some fresh air. People were so hard to deal with; sometimes she wondered what it was that possessed her to become a guidance councillor. She was the last person someone should get advice from. Her heart was aching and her ego bruised. Becoming a nun seemed like the best idea right now, nobody ever wanted her. Few men had wanted her body, sure, but never did they want _her_. Unable to stop herself, Emma began to cry softly.

"I've been told women cry often, but this is overdoing it a bit, don't you think?" A male voice asked drily.

Mortified, she shielded her face with her hand. He closed the door to the balcony with his heel and leaned his back against it, holding a bottle of champagne in one hand and two glasses in the other.

"I'd like to be alone please. Go away, please, just go away." Her voice was shaking.

"No. I overheard the things those men were saying about you, at least I think it was you, you fit the description. I'm here to offer my condolences."

"Oh?" She flushed hotly.

"You looked so unhappy and I thought a drop of vintage wine might do you some good."

At close quarters she could just make out that his face was lean and attractive, with a strong chin and fine straight nose. He must be in his late twenties or early thirties, she guessed.

She looked down at her feet shifting uneasily, refusing his offer of champagne.

"I don't need your help, I don't want it. Please, just leave me alone. I can't deal with anything right now."

"Paul."

She looked up, "I beg your pardon?"

"Paul. My name is Paul. May I have the pleasure of knowing your name?"

Emma couldn't believe the nerve of this man. She responded curtly, "Emma." She refused to talk to him further. All she wanted was to be left alone!

He observed her carefully, not saying a word. Despite the careful makeup, her face looked pale and drawn, her wide-set amber eyes were brimming with tears, and mauve shadows beneath them suggested that she hadn't slept properly for days, maybe even weeks. Though she was not beautiful in the conventional sense, he found her face fascinating, full of character, and had thought cynically that Daniel, whom he knew from university, was slowly improving his choice of women.

Remembering Daniel and why he was out there in the first place, Paul stepped closer to the trembling woman, "Emma.. that's a very pretty name. So, Emma, why is it you're so sad?"

Emma looked up from the ground, suddenly finding him in dangerously close proximity to herself. His eyes gazed at her intently, making her feel uncomfortable.

"This is a joke, right? You heard what they said! There is no way I can possibly go back in there."

"Of course there is, and you will, I'll make sure of it. Look, Emma, you shouldn't care what they think. Daniel? Daniel's a downright prick, any person with half a mind could've told you that. That sorta guy doesn't deserve someone like you."

Emma sniffed and brushed away a stray tear, "Oh? And what do you mean by 'someone like you'?"

Paul didn't know what possessed him to step closer, but he felt a sudden rush of excitement when he did, his first assessment was completely incorrect. Emma wasn't a conventional beauty, sure, but she was still beautiful in her own way. Her doe eyes looked up at him with a sort of unprotected innocence that took him aback. She was so trusting.

"Someone like you, Emma, deserves so much better. You deserve a man who's going to sweep you off your feet, someone who will love and cherish you. A man who will make you forget about every other man you've ever known. That's what someone like you deserves."

Paul muttered something inaudible under his breath and in one fluid movement pushed her gently against the balcony railing, and shielding her from any possibility of prying eyes, bent to kiss her.

She clung to him, dizzy and helpless. She was vaguely aware of the fact that what was happening was completely out of character and crazy, but as her lips parted underneath the slight pressure of his, somehow it no longer seemed to matter.

--

Remembering that first kiss, Emma touched her hands to her lips. That had been nearly 7 months ago, and Paul still continued to surprise and confuse her, he loved and cherished her. Was she going to throw that all away now just because Will Schuester was back in the picture? No, of course not! The only thing left to do was block him out, to ignore him.

Will Schuester was in the past, and she was going to try her damnedest to keep him there.

--

**Please don't forget to review!**


	8. Chapter 8

Will Schuester walked into his small apartment with a sense of relief and quickly discarded his coat, happy to be rid of some of the weight now resting on his shoulders. He sat down with a 'thump' onto the second-hand beige coloured couch and closed his eyes. Getting through today's work was far harder than he thought it would be, and despite his best efforts, he had gotten next to nothing done. More often than not did he find himself reaching for another cup of coffee or photocopying the same document _three times_. He couldn't help it, his mind was plagued with thoughts of Emma.. and Paul.

_Get over it and move on_, his logical mind reasoned, but a small part of him couldn't do that. It felt as if Emma and him had a past, which they did _sort of_, and it was hard letting her just go like that. But he had to because she was _Paul's_ girl now. And Paul was his bestfriend.

Seeing her today was a rude shock to his system, as if seeing her for the first time all over again.

When he had started at McKinley, Emma had already been working there steadily for a year and a half. He remembered first walking into the teachers' lounge and sitting next to her on his first day, having no idea who she was. She was cute, he remembered thinking, nothing like Terri who was loud, blonde and talkative. In fact, she was nothing like any of the other women he knew. She wore a slim-fitting cream coloured skirt matched with a baby yellow cropped sleeve blouse. _Colourful_, he thought, _from head to toe_. With a head of bright red hair, she was no doubt easy to find in a crowd. It was probably what possessed him to sit next to her on that first day, he mused.

"Hi, my name's Will. First day on the job." He grinned widely.

Her doe eyes, big as saucers, looked up from her busy job of cleaning a strawberry. She cleared her throat, "uh, hi Will. I'm Emma the guidance councillor."

He laughed, "it's very nice to meet you, Emma The Guidance Councillor."

She gave him a small grin and blushed, not saying much else afterwards. That was their first meeting, shy and reserved on the outside, but it meant something special, it _felt_ special. At the time he had put it down as simply the foundation for a solid friendship, but he had realized too late that perhaps it was so much more than that.

"Ugh, and now she's with Paul!"

There was absolutely no way around the situation, he couldn't very well ask Paul if he could have a turn with her, nope, that's not how life worked... unfortunately. He wasn't even sure Paul even _knew_ about Emma and himself, not that they ever had a relationship, but they still had _something_. He groaned in frustration, just his luck, the girl of his dreams was now with his bestfriend and there was absolutely nothing he could do about it

Will's cellphone vibrated in his pocket and he answered it, "yeah, Will here," he was SO not in the mood right now, "oh, hey Terri. Sorry we didn't get to talk, things were just so hectic," her voice was so annoying! He waited for her to finish talking, getting more agitated with each passing second. He couldn't believe he had to do this over and over again. The first time was bad enough, so much screaming and so many tears.

This was enough.

"Look, Terri, it's _over_. WE. ARE. _OVER! _Move on Terri. I have."

He honestly hadn't meant to be so harsh, but he figured he was being cruel to be kind. Terri had to start moving on in her life and stop pining after him. They were most definitely finished.

--

Terri looked at the phone in disbelief. What did he _mean_ he had moved on? Moved onto _what?! _And most importantly, moved onto _WHO?!_

Suddenly she had a very bad taste in her mouth. No doubt it was that Emma Pillsbury. She was trouble right from the start, Terri knew it from the very minute Will came home and started talking about the "wonderful" guidance councillor who was so "caring" and so "understanding". His eyes lit up in a way they never did when he was talking to her. Every time he spoke about Emma, Terri had to force a smile. And Emma! Oh, Emma was the worst. She would act so shy and quaint around Will, when really she was just as bad as every other woman! That Emma Pillsbury was a clever lady.

But wait a second, Terri thought, Will _can't_ be with Emma because Emma is with Paul. Terri tilted her head in thought, twirling her hair between her fingers. An idea came to mind.

_How positively perfect_, Terri thought.

It was time Emma Pillsbury got a taste of her own medicine, and Terri was the perfect woman to prescribe it.

"Well, if that's the way it's gotta be, then that's the way it's gonna be. No one steals my man and gets away with it. No, not today, not ever!"

She twirled around and looked at herself decidedly in the mirror. Pouting her lips and batting her eyelashes, a simple flick of the hair here, a bit of mascara there, and a short skirt or two and Terri was a force to be reckoned with. Terri grinned widely, very much approving of the sight before her. Even at her age, she was still as pretty as ever. No man could resist a woman when she put her charm on, especially not a woman like herself.

"That Emma won't know what hit her. I'll make her feel every ounce of pain I ever felt."

Terri had an idea. Terri was going to have Paul.

--

**Author's note: Sorry for the sort of mini hiatus before! I've just been so busy this week. Anyway, this is when the story really starts to unfold. Please review! I love knowing what you guys think of it and if you have any suggestions or anything like that. Hope you enjoyed this rather short chapter :)**


	9. Chapter 9

Emma stood back to admire her work – all her books were now in perfect alphabetical order. She'd first removed all her books from the old bookshelf, put them neatly into individual zip-lock bags, then proceeded to spray, scrub, dust and sanitize the shelf before doing the same to the books. She blew a stray hair away from her face and began to tap her foot gently. Something wasn't right, she thought, it didn't seem clean enough. Part of her knew that she was just being paranoid, there was no possible way that the books were dirty now, she had just spent the whole afternoon cleaning them!

"Maybe they shouldn't be in alphabetical order. Maybe, hmmm, maybe they should be in order depending on their colour!"

She smiled to herself and was about to remove the books from the shelf yet again before she heard a light chuckle behind her.

"Em, baby, by the looks of you, I'm more than certain you've done a good job of.. doing whatever it is you've done with our books. Let them go for a little bit, hey? Why not spend some time with me?"

Emma smiled apologetically at Paul and tiptoed over to him and gave him a quick peck on the cheek.

"Just let me put all this cleaning stuff away and I'll be right with you."

Paul had other ideas, and pulled Emma closer to him before she could scoot away. If he didn't know any better, Emma had been slowly shying away from him. He wasn't quite sure what it is he had done to offend her these past few weeks, but something was definitely up. She spent most of their nights together cleaning instead of in bed with him, where she belonged. He'd be a liar if he said it didn't annoy him a little bit. After all, he was only a man and he still had needs.

Frustrated at her obvious unwillingness, he stepped away from her and headed towards the fridge for a cold beer. Apart from having to sort out what was wrong with Emma, training with the team today had been hard. Finn and Puck had gotten into yet another fight and he wasn't the only one being annoyed by it, the rest of the team seemed pretty pissed off too. Someone should've told him that McKinley High was a school for drama queens!

Opening his beer, Paul turned to Emma as she was packing away several bottles of cleaning liquid, "What's wrong with you, Em? What's wrong with us?"

Emma turned to him innocently, "what are you talking about Paul? Nothing's wrong with us. We're both healthy and fit adu.."

"That's not what I'm talking about and you know it! I mean, what's happened to _us_? Where's that excitement?"

Emma looked at him with her wide eyes, appearing to be in conflict with her own thoughts. Had she and Paul really grown apart so quickly?

Without a word, Emma swiftly slipped out of the lounge to put away her things. She probably shouldn't have, but she wasn't sure what else there was left for her to do. Paul was tired. Maybe they would talk about it tomorrow.

Cursing under his breath, Paul pulled out his phone and dialled.

"Terri speaking."

"Hey, Terri, it's Paul. Yeah, Emma's umm, she's not feeling so well. Wanna go get something to eat?"

--

Terri hung up her phone smiling. Lately she had made and extra effort to accidentally "bump into" Paul when he was at the supermarket or after he had just got back from training. He was a pretty friendly person, so it wasn't hard getting into his good books. Over the past few weeks, they had developed a nice, casual friendship. This was the first time they'd actually arranged to see each other. Paul thought it was all innocent, of course, just two friends hanging out, but Terri had other ideas.

She switched off the TV and got up. If she was going to snag Paul, she had to do it carefully and correctly, which required some very strategic planning. It wouldn't do for her to come off too strongly, otherwise he might back away from her, no, Terri was a master at these sorts of things, she knew what she had to do.

The only question was, should she wear her hair up or down?

--

Emma came back into the lounge, having put away her things neatly into their rightful place and washed her hands several times. Paul had just hung up his cellphone and was now getting a second beer.

"Who was that?"

Paul looked up, he hadn't noticed Emma come in, "oh, that was just Terri. We're gonna go have an early dinner. She's actually pretty cool, I wonder why you guys never hang out. I mean, she was Will's wife and you were one of Will's bestfriends.."

Emma strained to smile, since when had Terri and Paul become friends?

"Anyway, you're more than welcome to tag along. Might be nice." He smiled at her as he walked over to the couch to sit down.

Emma continued to smile and shook her head, "oh no, I promised the Garcias that I'd walk Arthur for them." Emma cringed at the thought. Arthur was a big, slobbery Rottweiler that was fond of running too fast and not listening to what anyone said. However, the Garcias had practically begged her to take him for walks while they were away on holiday, and Emma couldn't find it in herself to say no. The Garcias had been the nicest neighbours ever since Emma had first moved in, she owed them one, even if that meant running through the park after Arthur.

Paul laughed, "they tricked you, didn't they? I told you they would, Em, you're far too easy to manipulate!"

Emma rolled her eyes as he winked at her, "yes, well, there's nothing I can do about it now. I've got to go get him in about half an hour. When are you going to go see Terri?"

"Oh, probably in about an hour or so. I don't know how long it'll take her to get ready."

Emma's eyebrows shot up a fraction, "uh, why? W-where are you taking her? Somewhere f-fancy maybe?"

Paul quieted for a moment and gave her a very serious look before returning to his normal laughing self, "Em.. are you _jealous_? Ahaha, trust me, it's completely platonic. We're just going to the burger joint down the road. Like I said, if you want to join us, you're more than welcome."

Feeling ridiculous for suspecting Paul to be anything less than a gentleman, Emma apologised and refused his offer, reminding him that there was a big, flee-infested dog waiting for her next door.

--

Will looked at his email disappointingly. Tomorrow night was the big fancy-pancy teachers dinner, which he definitely couldn't afford to miss. So far, he had managed to excuse his way out of every social event that had come his way, he just wasn't in the mood for people anymore. He felt so down in the dumps most of the time that even Sue had started leaving him alone a bit more. He supposed it was because she felt sorry for him, how pathetic!

_This is an invitation for William Schuester and guest._

Will stared at the 'and guest' part of the email and groaned. Who on earth would want to go with such a miserable creature like him? Maybe he could call and cancel, even give the invitation to Sue instead and let her drag him through the mud for a whole evening. At least with that he could make _someone_ happy. Happiness was something that was definitely lacking in his life right now. Every day was just so boring, so lack-lustre.

"Ugh, I'll deal with this tomorrow."

He switched off his computer, gathered his things and made sure to lock up his office before leaving.

Alone in the carpark, he looked up at the clouds. The weather was nice today and the sun was still out. He looked at his car miserably, why waste perfectly good weather? Maybe a walk would cheer him up.

--

**Author's note: don't forget to review! any sort of criticizm is helpful. Thanks for reading :)**


	10. Chapter 10

The moment Emma let Arthur off his leash she knew it was a big mistake. The powerful Rottweiler dashed across the park like a bat out of hell, mothers whisking up toddlers up in their arms at his approach and elderly couples leaping out of his way with a nimbleness they probably thought had been lost to them many years before. Even the group of youngsters in strategically slashed jeans and piercings in what seemed like every body part possible lost their cool, scattering with shrieks and cries which – Emma noted thankfully – were good humoured.

Why hadn't she listened to the Garcias? Emma silently berated herself as she panted after the dog, wasting valuable breath every twenty seconds or so to screech out his name wildly. But Arthur had been so docile and well-behaved on the walk to the park, his eyes had looked up at her in such longing as he watched all the other dogs chase after balls and run around in big loops and weaves across the grass. It had filled Emma with such guilt to see him on the leash while his companions got to enjoy themselves.

"Keep him on his leash at all times!" Mr. Garcia had warned as he saw Emma and Arthur off at the door, "I can just about trust him to kneel and come back, but I don't know how he'll react to somebody else. He's perfectly friendly, of course, adores children. But the original owner was so terrible to him, as you know, poor darling."

'poor darling' was not the phrase she'd choose to describe Arthur right at his moment, Emma thought grimly. Her lungs felt as though they were going to burst and her throat and chest were on fire.

There was a brief moment before Arthur turned around and began to bolt towards her at a frightening speed, perhaps trying to impress the other dogs which were now staring blankly at him. It was doubtful he even noticed the tall figure about to cross his path. There was one endless moment where man and dog met and then five or six stone of canine muscle sent the unfortunate figure hurtling to the ground. A very nice leather briefcase went one way and a navy jacket in the other. The man landed on his back with earth-shaking force that even Arthur realized he had made a mistake.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I'm so sorry, so, so sorry!" Emma bent down to her knees in a flurry of cream trousers, pink blouse and tumbled hair, the colour of bright autumn leaves. "Are you alright?"

The man remained perfectly still for another moment and then drew air into his body with something of a tortured groan. It probably wasn't the right moment to notice it was an exceptionally fit body – tall, lean and muscled with a masculinity that was rawly sexy.

Emma swallowed.

A pair of too-familiar blue eyes met hers. In spite of his prone position and the fact he had just had all the air knocked out of him, they were lethal, the one rapier sharp glance saying more than mere words could ever have done.

"Oh my goodness, Will, I am so sorry. Arthur's just so, he's just so strong sometimes, sometimes I can't... oh my goodness! I can't believe.. I'll replace everything, I promise, I'll get you a knew jacket and everything"

Will got up and brushed himself off, barely able to feel the pain in his ribs being far too distracted by the flustered woman before him. "Don't worry about it, it wasn't one of my favourites anyway."

He folded his arms, surveying her for some moments without speaking. He was standing a couple of feet from her and in spite of herself her pulse was racing. Being this close to him sent her blood coursing, she told herself irritably, and she hated that he could still affect her so. It wasn't attraction – it definitely, _definitely_ wasn't attraction – she reiterated as though someone had challenged her on it.

"I don't need the jacket, forget about it. You seem a lot more flustered than I am."

"It's just, Will, I'm so sorry. Please let me get you a new one? I wouldn't feel right if I didn't make it up to you."

"So you really feel that bad about it?"

"Yes, of course."

A thin smile curved his mouth as though he had just remembered something very amusing. The next moment Emma realized it was her reaction to his next words he had been anticipating with relish.

"In that case, I need a partner for a social occasion tomorrow night." His eyes pierced her with laser brightness, "care to oblige?"

Emma took a moment to compose herself. She had never been so surprised in her life. Was he joking?

Her face must've reflected her thoughts because the smile widened, "I'm quite serious. It's this teachers event that I'm obligated to go to. Of course, if Paul might object.."

_Paul_.

The name hung in the air between them, neither of them willing to comment on it. Emma looked at him squarely, "what exactly does this event involve?"

"Cocktails, dinner, dancing."

It wasn't a proper explanation and they both knew it. A few seconds stretched themselves into what seemed like an unbearable tension.

She took one swift glance at the park which was bathed in warm June sunlight, as though it was going to help her with her current predicament.

"... alright. But I'll ask Paul first. He might, uh, he might have something planned for us. Wait a moment, I'll ring him now. Gosh, I hope I don't interrupt his dinner with Terri.."

Will didn't bother hiding his surprise at the mention of Terri's name.

--

"Hey, Em! Yeah, things are fine. Just about to tuck into my burger actually. So, what's up?"

Paul glanced at Terri as he spoke to Emma on the phone. God, the woman definitely knew how to dress. Her hair was falling graciously down her shoulders, touching the very tops of her breasts which were staring up at him invitingly. He swallowed hard. How long had it been since he and Emma had had sex?

"Sorry, what was that Em? Yeah, uh, Terri was just saying something. Sorry, what was it you were asking?"

Terri looked up and smiled at him sweetly. Her plan was working out perfectly, snatching Paul away from Emma was going to be easier than she thought. Maybe she could have him in less than a week. Obviously Emma wasn't doing it for him anymore. Tsk, tsk, it seems someone needs a lesson in how to keep a man interested.

_Except that you couldn't keep your own husband interested_, her mind thought sardonically. Terri pushed those thoughts away and concentrated on the man before her. Oh, he was more than willing alright, but she didn't want to rush things. Patience was important if she wanted her plan to work.

".. tomorrow night? Yeah, sure, as long as you two behave yourselves." He laughed out loud, said 'i love you' to Emma then hung up.

"So.. let's eat, shall we?"

They grinned at each other.

--

Emma gulped before hanging up too.

"Paul said it's fine."

Will clapped his hands together and looked down at his wrist watch, "great! That's fantastic.. so when shall I pick you up? I don't want to get to the dinner too late. Mrs. Gallaher always gets to the good food first, and I wouldn't want us to miss out."

Emma laughed nervously and got out a piece of paper, quickly scribbling down her address on it before handing it to Will. "Here, this is my new home address, you can pick me up at 6:30. No need to come to the door, I'll meet you at your car."

Will took the piece of paper, glancing down at it and giving her a nod of approval. He gave her one last smile before turning to walk away, having said not another word.

Emma stood for a few moments more until a whine at her feet brought her out of the maelstrom of her thoughts. Glancing down at Arthur, she noticed he had the nerve to look as if he had been given the short end of the stick. "Don't even go there," she warned him fiercely, "this is all your fault."

Why hadn't she said no? Why hadn't she thought up some fantastical excuse? What on earth had possessed her to accept such a ridiculous proposition?

She brushed the memory of his well-toned torso out of her mind determinedly. She _wasn't_ attracted to him, she told herself firmly, she wasn't interested in Will Schuester anymore. No, that would be sheer madness! Anyway, she was with Paul and Will had had his chance, so he clearly didn't even like her in _that way_. Not that she cared, because she didn't. No, she'd only said yes because she felt obliged to make amends for what Arthur had done.

--

**Author's note: this is where the Will/Emma really starts to happen. From here on in, I shall sprinkle you with Will/Emma love :D**


	11. Chapter 11

**Sorry for the wait, just had to sort out what I'm going to do with Emma and Will. Hope you like it!**

**--**

It was 6:25pm and Emma was panicking big time, not least because she barely recognized the woman staring back at her from the mirror. She'd decided earlier that day that she hadn't anything to wear for a fancy dinner party, so she had quickly stopped off at a boutique in town that an old friend had recommended. When she'd left Chantal, that was the name of the store, the woman at the counter had clapped her hands in grave satisfaction, pleased with having found Emma what she thought was the perfect dress.

It _was_ beautiful. Emma's gaze left the frightened eyes in the mirror and travelled downwards. The light coral silk, the cap-sleeved bodice with flattering collar-bone-skimming neckline topping a skirt with the same beading and chiffon layers. She had to admit that it did a certain something for her figure and skin. It was riveting.

Should she have left her hair down? She glanced again at the silky smooth chignon she'd persuaded her shoulder length waves into. It had seemed too fussy somehow, the dress being so stunning, but her hair had been up and down three times before she had decided.

Paul came up behind her, pulling at a loose tendril of hair and watching it bounce up and down softly, "you look amazing, Em."

He kissed a lazy trail down her neck, pausing briefly at her shoulder to suck gently. She looked delectable, he had decided, and he wanted her bad. One of his deft fingers began to pull the zip of the dress down her back before Emma stilled him and turned around.

"Not now, Paul. Will's going to be here any minute. When I get back though, if I'm not too tired maybe.."

Paul groaned in frustration. Things like this were happening more and more and it seemed as if Emma had a million excuses. He closed his eyes for a moment, urging his annoyance away.

"In that case, I'll have you know that Will's already waiting outside. I told him you'd only be a minute."

Emma brought her hand to her throat, willing the panic to subside before taking Paul's hand. She looked him straight in the eye and kissed him softly, "I'll be back before you go to bed. Sorry for being such a spoil sport. I'll be back to normal in no time, I promise. I guess work has been more stressful than I care to admit."

Paul looked down at her, unable to stay angry. He sighed and pulled her into a tight embrace. At least he knew where she was going and who she was with. There was absolutely no way Emma would be in danger while Will was there to protect her.

"Don't worry about it, Em. I guess I'm just not used to being so busy again with work. Maybe I'll call Terri over, she might want to go get some takeout. Don't wanna be bored by myself now do I?"

Emma looked at him for a second before smiling, "yeah, that's a great idea. I'm happy you and Terri are friends. She's a nice person."

"Haha, yeah, tell me about it. I wonder why Will ever let her go."

She smiled again and grabbed her purse, "I'll see you later then."

He kissed her quickly before she left the room. "yup, I'll see you when you get back. Might go take a shower now, Em, I think I smell funny." He laughed and watched her as she left.

She opened the front door and made her way down the pathway to Will's car. She was concentrating so hard on walking gracefully in her giddily high, needle-thin heels, that she didn't lift her head until she reached the safety of the taxi.

"Wow."

The deep male voice brought her head turning. Will Schuester was leaning against a taxi, hands thrust in his pockets. He looked like something every red-blooded woman from the age of sixteen to sixty would love to find in their Christmas stocking. An exquisitely cut dinner jacket sat on his broad shoulders, and the smile lighting up his blue eyes was electric.

Emma forgot to breathe as he walked towards her, managing only to mutter a quiet 'hello' at the last moment.

"You look sensational, Emma."

His gaze moved over her hair, amber eyes, and carefully painted lips, and there was a faint note of surprise in his voice when he said, "you'll set tongues wagging tonight. They'll all want to know where I found you."

After making sure she was comfortably seated, Will joined her at the back of the cab. "Duxton, please," he said easily to the cab driver who nodded his head obediently.

He settled himself comfortably beside her. She could feel the imprint of his thigh against her hip but didn't dare move. She didn't want to make him think he bothered her in anyway. The confines of the taxi were too intimate. Her dress was too revealing. She turned her head and looked out the window. There was a long pause between them when the air hinted at the delicious sensuality of his aftershave.

"Relax, Emma."

"Relax?" Her gaze shot up to meet his, "I don't know what you mean. I'm perfectly relaxed."

"Look, just enjoy yourself, okay? There are no obligations, if that's what's worrying you."

She cleared her throat, moistening her lips and then wishing she hadn't as his piercing gaze followed her tongue. "I guess I'm just nervous," she managed at last. "Meeting all these important people and so on." She waved a vague hand. It wasn't the people though. It was just him... and the fact he was sitting too close.

Her face must have revealed her thoughts again, because his searching gaze was replaced by a smile. "You have a very open face," he said, the smile lingering at the corners of his mouth. "I would have thought that would've been a handicap in your line of work."

She arched an eyebrow, "I can be deadpan when I need to be," she assured him evenly. She just couldn't be deadpan around him for some infuriating reason.

Before she knew it, they were outside the doors of the Duxton hotel already, one of the nicest function halls in town. She hadn't realized teachers could afford such a place.

Will paid the driver, "bring the taxi back around three, unless I call before then. Same place, we'll be waiting out front."

Three _in the morning_? She hadn't realized it was going to be that long! She had a big night ahead of her.

Her thoughts were quickly washed away by her immediate surroundings. Will lead her to the cocktail bar, and she had to try and close her mouth which she knew had fallen open. The place was so impressively luxurious. Emma took the seat beside Will which overlooked the vast nightclub below. After glancing at the cocktail menu, she tried to find the least alcoholic drink. She needed to keep all her wits about her tonight.

The night continued onward, though much slower than Emma had anticipated. The circular shape of the table they were seated at prompted conversation which everyone could share, and she soon realized Will had set himself out to be both charming and amusing. He was winning all the guests over with his stories of ridiculous childhood antics and behind-closed-doors happenings.

Emma was quiet, laughing when it was needed and nodding her head almost mechanically when she was being spoken to. It wasn't that she wasn't enjoying herself, because she was, she just felt a little out of place. Although Will was a very sociable person, Emma found it harder to communicate with people. No matter where she was and no matter how friendly she looked, people always found her a little weird.

As if reading her thoughts, Will reached out a hand and covered one of hers where it was resting on her wine glass. "Enjoying yourself?" he asked softly as her startled gaze met his.

His flesh was warm and firm and a thousand little pin-pricks shot out through her nerves at his touch. Ridiculous, she told herself. Ridiculous to react like this to a man you don't have any particular interest in _getting to know better_.

"Yes, thank you." She said politely, slipping her hand away from under his.

"Good," he said, "let's dance."

Before she had a chance to protest, he had drawn her to her feet, his cool smile washing over the faces of the other guests as he said, "the night is young, folks. Let's enjoy it."

Before she knew where she was, Emma found herself in his arms on the dance floor. There were only a few couples taking advantage of the slow, easy number the jazz band were playing, but it wasn't that which had caused the sudden tension radiating through each one of her nerves. His body was surprisingly hard and strong, and held close to him like this his height was emphasised and Emma felt tiny and feminine in comparison. It was a nice feeling. And she didn't want to have nice feelings around Will Schuester.

She lifted her head, determined to say something to break the curiously intimate spell which seemed to have woven itself around them. His eyes were waiting for her, their blueness riveting, and causing the words to die in her throat as his body betrayed what her closeness was doing to him.

"You're one beautiful woman, Emma Pillsbury," he murmured huskily.

A tingle of excitement fluttered over her skin. It was a warning and she knew it. He had said things like this before when she was still working at McKinley and before she knew it, she was in way over her head. She was never going to let that happen again, it hurt too much.

"It's the dress," she said carefully, forcing a flatness into her tone, "not me."

He continued to look down at her, and she prayed the trembling which had begun in her stomach wouldn't transfer itself to the rest of her body. The incredible width of his shoulders, the male squareness of his chin enhanced by the merest cleft and the handsome face all proclaimed a virile masculinity which was overwhelming.

"No, it's not the dress," he said softly, "although it's stunning."

Something was happening, she could feel it. Maybe it was the wine they had drunk throughout the evening; it was doing something to their senses. Suddenly everything felt warm and she felt giddy and he was looking at her with some sort of dangerous intent.

"You can let me go for this next dance," she said softly, looking down at her feet.

"Perhaps I don't want to let you go."

"People are looking."

"Let them look."

Will wasn't sure what possessed him to do it, but Emma was looking up at him so innocently. She looked so fragile, so soft and supple and _beautiful_. He bent his head down and skimmed her mouth with his lips. "There, that'll give them something to talk about."

For one giddy second, the room swam. The caress had been too fleeting to be called a kiss, but she'd felt the contact right down to her toes. She blinked, "don't do that, please," she said as firmly as her breathing would allow, "I'm dating Paul."

Will suddenly stopped them half way through the dance, realizing the depth of her words. What was he doing? Why was he _flirting_?

"Ah, yes. _Paul_. I guess we should sit down then."

Emma meekly nodded and headed back towards their seats.

--

Terri checked her lipgloss out in the mirror, making sure she looked _just right_. Paul was in the kitchen heating them up some popcorn and Emma was nowhere to be seen. He had invited her over, saying Emma had gone to some teachers function for the night and he wondered if she'd like to watch a dvd with him to kill time.

Over the past couple of weeks, Terri had made sure to "accidentally bump into" Paul on several occasions, each incident leading to a lunch here and a dinner there. With every encounter they had, Paul's eyes lingered longer, his desire for her evident in the way he would talk to her just above a whisper, as if they had a secret no one else could know about. In a way, she supposed they _did_ have a secret.

But tonight was the night. They were alone and Paul wanted her, though he hadn't yet confessed it. She just had to play her cards right, and if everything went according to plan, she'd have him in bed in time for Emma coming home to catch them in the act. _Perfect_.

"Scooch over a bit, would ya?" Paul sat down on the couch next to Terri with a soft thump, the two now comfortably close to each other, knee to knee, thigh to thigh – _intimate._

"So, what's it gonna be then? Terminator or one of those chick flicks you girls like so much?"

Terri bit her bottom lip in a show of fake innocence. Should she go for it now or was it too early? She looked up at Paul, searched his eyes for some sort of indication, she needed something to work with but for now he seemed too.. casual. Maybe wait a little longer, afterall, Emma wasn't expected anytime soon. She had plenty of time to work her magic.

Terri smiled and shrugged her shoulders, "oh, I dunno. You pick, I prefer to let the man take control.."

The look on Paul's face was almost priceless. Oh, he was so close now, she just needed a little more time.

--

They were one of the last guests to leave, Will being the polite guest who made sure he kept everyone entertained before home time. After their brief kiss on the dance floor, Emma had been all nerves for the rest of the evening, and if Will had noticed he hadn't mentioned anything, which she was glad for. The sooner she got back home, the better. Tonight was a scary reminder of how _bad_ it was to get too close to Will Schuester.

And yet here she was, wearing a ridiculously expensive dress in the back of a cab next to the last man she should be with at such an outrageous hour. Emma went into overdrive, more flustered than she had ever been in her life, she tried thinking of something to say, anything to keep him distracted. Then she found herself saying, "I'm surprised you didn't find someone else to take to this function, which was really quite something."

"It was last minute."

"Really?" She was burningly aware of a hard male thigh against hers. "I would've thought that something so extravagant would've taken weeks to plan. To begin with, there'd be all those invitations you'd have to send out," she gabbled, "and don't forget sorting out costs and hiring a venue. I'd think that some-"

She never did tell him what she thought because he kissed her. Really kissed her. And it was everything she imagined it might be. Hot, stunningly sweet and altogether mind-blowing.

She could tell he was devastatingly experienced, he must've had all the girls going crazy over him in highschool. The warning in her mind was there, but it didn't mean a thing while his mouth was working its magic and his arms were pressing her close to his hardness.

Almost leisurely, he explored her mouth until her heart thudded wildly against the steady beat of his and she was kissing him back in total surrender.

This was crazy, insane. She knew that, knew she had to call a halt before things got out of hand, but it was impossible with her blood singing through her veins and molten lava in the pit of her stomach. His hands were clever, stroking her arms and the smooth roundness of her shoulders until her skin was on fire with his caresses.

She gave herself over totally to the kiss, knowing the danger of letting herself become vulnerable to this man, but unable to help herself. He kissed so well, unlike any man she'd ever kissed before. Most kisses had been sloppy or too demanding as most men she had dated used a kiss as a preliminary to other things, but Will seemed in no hurry to progress, seemingly enjoying her mouth as much as she was relishing his.

His hands moved up to her hair and within a moment it was falling down about her shoulders, silky soft and smelling of apple blossom shampoo. His fingers tangled themselves in the rich strands, using them to draw her head backwards to allow him greater access to the sensitive skin of her throat.

Emma moaned softly, her hands sliding over his chest. The faint scent of aftershave she'd noticed earlier was teasing her nostrils again, its essence feeding her desire with its elusive aroma. She heard him whisper her name as his mouth came back to hers, his voice husky. She knew what he wanted because she wanted it too, and it didn't seem to matter where they were or what the rest of the world was doing.

The thought was enough to bring her abruptly to her senses again. His charisma had once gotten the best of her, she had once let her feelings destroy her professional integrity, her feelings hadn't changed and _that_ was what scared her the most. It was as if 6 months apart hadn't done anything to erase the memories she had of him. What was she doing with Paul? Why was Will _here_ with _her?_ What did this all mean? This wasn't who she was at all.

She had stopped kissing Will back and unconsciously stiffened as the memories flooded in, and now she became aware that he had picked up on her withdrawal as he drew away. "What's wrong?" he asked very quietly, but without the annoyance or irritation she'd half-expected.

"I... I don't usually do this." Although when it came to Will, Emma seemed to have no control over herself.

"You don't kiss?"

His voice sounded almost pained, as if he had to hold himself back from saying or doing something. Emma was glad that she could only catch glimpses of him in the dark from passing streetlamps, she wasn't sure she wanted to see the expression on his face right now. She didn't know how to answer him. How could she say that what they'd just shared had been more than a kiss, at least to her? That would give all the wrong signals.

Emma swallowed, "not like this, no."

"Like this?"

"In... in the back of a car." She swallowed again. "A goodnight kiss from a work colleague is one thing, but this is more..."

"Intimate?" he finished for her.

"Yes. And inappropriate, Will. Completely inappropriate."

"Nice though."

Emma watched as he quickly shifted to the other side of the cab, a space now lay between them and she was able to breathe. She turned her to face the window, "driver, how much longer till my place?"

"about 2 more minutes, miss."

"Perfect."

"Got someone waiting for you, miss?"

Emma nodded her head, "my boyfriend."

The driver paused for a moment, "oh, sorry miss. I just assumed that you two were.."

"we're not. Definitely not."

She didn't bother looking at Will's reaction.

--

Will forced himself to stay on his side of the cab, if their kiss had proven anything, it was that he couldn't keep his hands off Emma Pillsbury.

He wasn't a fool, he knew that what they had just done was completely inappropriate, like she had said, but a part of him whispered that perhaps it was exactly what they both needed. The kiss he had given her on the dance floor had started as a joke, but the look in her eyes as he had broken away revealed a lot more than she probably had wanted and Will had found himself captivated by her for the rest of the evening. He had kept quiet, not trusting himself and what he might say. The way her hair shined under the romantic lighting in the hall, when she laughed it was genuine and her face was so open, it was like reading a book. He couldn't take his eyes off her, and the thought unsettled him. It was so wrong, Paul would be furious if he found out.

He had succeeded on keeping himself in check until they had reached the cab. She had tried talking about God knows what, and Will couldn't stop himself. Her lips had been so inviting and before he knew it, he had her up against the cab door, exploring the soft inner flesh of her mouth with his own. She had tasted of cinnamon and lemon, a strange combination that he discovered he wanted more of. There was so much to Emma he hadn't seen before, it almost seemed unfair that she would go home to another man.

_Stop it, Will. STOP IT, STOP IT, STOP IT._

Will watched as Emma stepped out of the cab, paying her share of the fair, neither of them willing to say another word to each other, she barely waved goodbye. It was for the best, he guessed, he wasn't sure he'd be able to stop himself if she looked at him again with those big doe eyes.

As soon as she was gone, he settled back into his seat more comfortably.

"Just take me home, driver. It's been a long night."

--

**Author's note: ****This is by far the longest chapter yet, to make up for the fact I didn't update for about 2 weeks. Sorry! Tell me what you think in the reviews, I'm having trouble figuring out how long chapters should be, because I don't want them to be too long with too much happening... constructive criticism is very much appreciated :)**


	12. Chapter 12

--

She was wearing that skirt again. Deep red, above the knee, paired with black heels that Paul swore could take someone's eye out. The skirt that would ride up a little too high as she sat on the sofa, crossing her legs as the fabric fell off slightly, allowing a dangerous view of her thighs. But just a quick view, she was too fast to cover it up. Was Terri doing it on purpose? It was hard to tell, maybe it was just his male hormones going crazy due to lack of _anything_ from Emma.

Paul pretended to pay attention to what she was saying about the dvd they were watching. The thoughts running through his mind right now were too distracting. The thought of his hands on her knees, uncrossing her legs slowly, drawing them only slightly apart, just enough so he could explore her skin a little bit. His hand would pull up the itchy fabric of the skirt, exposing the tanned, taut skin of her upper thigh, such a great contrast to Emma's own pale complexion.

His eyes were still set intently on the TV screen, but he couldn't take it anymore. Terri was sending him so many signals, the short skirts, the giggling, the late night visits. She wanted him, of that he was sure, but Emma would come home any minute now and it would be too much of a risk..

"What are you thinking about?"

"You really don't want to know."

"Come on, you can trust me. I'll tell you what I'm thinking if you tell me what you're thinking."

Paul gulped and turned slightly to face her. She looked breathless, flushed, her mouth slightly open. She wanted him _bad_, and he had to admit that a part of him, one part in particular, wanted her just as badly. He was convinced it was sexual frustration and Terri definitely wasn't bad looking either, having her this close to him all the time was bound to have its consequences.

"I'm not going to lie, Terri, you're hot as hell and any man would be a fool not to want...."

"yes?"

"see, the thing is, Terri... uh, I'm with _Emma_ and she's going to be home any minute now. It would be stupid to try anything."

Terri smiled wickedly, "I won't tell if you don't."

--

They had been together on the bed, in a flurry of naked limbs and hoarse breathing. As she stood rooted to the spot, both of them had glanced up, their faces blind with passion.

Emma could clearly recall how quickly their expressions had altered when they realized she was home. Paul's flushed, handsome face had looked startled and guilty, while Terri's expression had changed to one of quiet triumph.

Without a word, Emma had turned and blundered away, stumbling in her haste to escape the ugly little scene. She had walked and walked and walked until she thought she might collapse. How could Paul do something like that to her? And the worst part was, that she had done _nearly_ exactly the same thing with Will only hours ago. The thought of that hurt her the most, her heart ached and beat wildly in her chest and the tears ran lines through her makeup. She was glad there was no one around to see her, she probably looked a fright.

She was all alone again, yet another man out of her pathetic life. The cold wind whipped her face and made tiny goosebumps along her bare arms, but Emma couldn't feel it. She felt empty, nothing else seemed to matter. A few drunken men stumbled out of bars and taxis zipped past her, but she kept on walking, it was the only thing she was sure she could still manage to do without messing up. One foot in front of the other, she thought to herself, as long as I can do that, everything will be okay.

Her phone beeped loudly in her bag, but she refused to answer. Hearing his voice was too much for her right now, all she wanted to do was sleep, but where? Looking up, she spied a telephone booth up ahead. With as much strength as she could muster, Emma ran to the booth, quickly shutting the folding door behind her. Without thinking, she forced several pennies into the provided slot and frantically dialled the only person she could count on.

"Pick up, please pick up.."

--

Will sat on his couch with his shirt loosened, still wearing his clothes from the evening. He hadn't bothered changing, what was the point? It wasn't like he planned on getting any sleep, not with everything going on. He felt conflicted, he felt angry and hopeless and frustrated with everything in general. The TV was on, but he wasn't watching it. He just sat there, staring into space, his hair slightly mused from having run his fingers through it one too many times in the past hour or so.

The scene in the taxi kept replaying in his mind, no matter how hard he tried to shut it out. The warmth of her petite body felt embedded in his chest, the very outline of her fingernails across his back as vivid as ever. She was so sweet and responsive in his arms, like nothing he had ever experienced before. Sure, what he had with Terri was pretty good, maybe even "hot" at the best of times, but with Emma it was different. It felt _real_ with Emma, no forced smiles or practiced kisses, Emma had the wonderful abandon of a woman in the throes of true passion. And now he was expected to let it all go, he had made the horrible choice of allowing himself a small taste of what wasn't his, and now letting go was even harder.

_Beeeeeep! Beeeeep! Beeeep!_

Will glanced behind him at the clock, 4:46am. Who on earth would call at such an ungodly hour?!

_Beeeeep! Beeeep! Beee-_

"Hi, Will speaking."

"Shit, Will, I've messed up. I've messed up big time. Sorry if I woke you, it's just that... nah, but you probably weren't sleeping anyway seeing as you just got back from the party. Shit, shit, shit! Will, man, you don't know the hell I'm going through right now, she won't answer her phone, I don't know where she is, I've tried her friends, I've tried her parents, I even went around to the neighbours! I can't find her anywhere, I've fucked up utterly... _shit_, what the hell am I going to do? It was a one time thing, I swear.."

"Wooooah, buddy, slow down. Paul, what's going on?"

"Look man, can I come over? I can't do this over the phone, I'm so messed up right now."

"Yeah, sure thing... is everything alright, Paul? What's happened?"

"I can't do this, man, I can't do this over the phone. I'm coming over, I need to talk, I need to find her, I'm coming over, is that okay? Can I come over? I'm a total mess. Okay... bye, thanks Will."

Will looked back down at his phone in disbelief. What the hell was going on, and what did Paul mean _he couldn't find her_? What had happened to Emma? Was she hurt? He had to force down the negative thoughts, Paul sounded so frantic on the phone, it must be something really bad and his thoughts were now completely centered on Emma and whether or not she was safe. Surely she had gotten home safely; he had seen her open the front door to her house with his own eyes.

"I'm sure she's fine," Will convinced himself. His real problem now was Paul and if he wanted to know what had happened, he needed to keep his cool and wait for Paul to show up.

As soon as the thought occurred, there was a loud banging on his front door. He opened it, and in rushed Paul, waving his arms, cursing, hitting things, getting mad but at nothing in particular. Will calmly closed the door behind him and waited.

"Paul.. have a seat, alright? Tell me what on earth is going on."

Paul paused and looked him in the eye, nodded his head and sat down obediently, drawing in a deep breath before speaking.

"She walked in on us. Emma, she just walked in on us and then disappeared before I could explain myself. I tried to stop her, Will, but she just disappeared completely. Do you know how late it is? Fuck, anything could happen to her right now and if anything did... hell, it'd be all my fault and I'd never, _never_ be able to forgive myself."

Will's eyebrows instantly snapped together. Had he heard correctly? Paul had been caught _cheating_? He didn't know how to react, though the first thing he could think of was, "who were you with?"

"Does it even fucking matter who I was with?"

"I want to know."

"Terri. I was with Terri."

"_Terri?!"_

"Yes, Will. Terri. I was with Terri. Terri, Terri, _Terri!_ It doesn't fucking matter, what matters is that I have no idea where Emma has gone."

Will sat down and took a deep breath, unable to look his bestfriend in the eye at that moment. The silence between them dragged on for an age before Will finally spoke. He was worried about Emma just as much as Paul was, but first thing was first. He needed answers.

"... why, Paul? Why'd you do it?"

"Emma had been acting weird lately, and fuck, I don't know, Terri wanted me bad and I couldn't fucking stop her."

"Did you even try?"

"YES I FUCKING TRIED, OF COURSE I FUCKING TRIED!"

Unphased by his friend's sudden outburst, Will continued on relentlessly, "so how'd you let it happen then, it's not like Terri's a particularly large human being, you could've easily pushed her off. How'd you let this happen, Paul, huh? Why is it that you're here worried about Emma... were you worried about her 2 hours ago when you were at it with Terri?"

His question was followed by guilty silence. Whether the guilt was coming from himself or Paul, he wasn't sure. After all, the situation could've been very different if Emma hadn't stopped him in the taxi. He had no right to be so mad at Paul.

"... I messed up, Will. But I don't want Terri, she's not what I want, what happened was a moment of weakness, you can't blame me. I just want to find Emma, I need to make sure she's okay."

"I can't promise you she'll be 'okay', but I can help you find her to make sure she's safe."

"You're right... she's probably more upset than I am right now. I don't care if she's mad at me, Will, I just need to.. I want to make sure that she's.."

"Yeah, buddy, don't worry. We'll find her."

--

Emma clung to Rosie, her body convulsing with each wild sob. Her lipped trembled and her hair had now fallen out around her face, a few strands clinging to her cheeks from the many tears she had already cried.

Rosie hugged Emma tightly, "men can be such pigs, love, and it might not have been what you thought it was. Like you said, you didn't give him a chance to speak, maybe it was.."

"_but they were naked in bed together!_" Emma's sobbing became almost uncontrollable. In a matter of minutes, her whole world had been turned upside down.

"Look, love, you can stay here for as long as you need to. Take the spare bed, Ian and the girls don't mind. In fact, if they were awake right now, they'd insist on you staying. Besides, we have your mum's birthday luncheon to go to. You can stay till then, and then I'll start helping you look for a new place."

Emma looked up at Rosie with gratitude in her eyes. Rosie had been the very first person to come to mind after she had run out on Paul and Terri. She had thought about going to her parents home which wasn't too far away, but they'd ask too many questions and she wasn't ready to tell anyone about what happened with Paul just yet, it was too embarrassing. The last time she had visited her parents, Paul and her had been happily in love, her mother had even hinted at grandchildren... she couldn't take that away from them now. Paul was supposed to be _the one_, but as it turned out, she was wrong again. Emma had a knack for falling for the worst possible guy.

"I had forgotten completely about the luncheon, what am I going to tell my parents? They absolutely adored Paul, it'd break their hearts if they found out what he.."

"Don't worry about that now, love, just get some rest. You've just gotten off a rather long flight, you need your rest. You can call Paul tomorrow and tell him where you are. No doubt he's searched the entire city looking for you, let alone the entire country."

"Too bad I'm here with you."

"Yes, I've been meaning to talk to you about that.."

"Hmmm?"

"You can't keep running off to England every time something bad happens in the big US of A, Emma."

"Oh... but it's so much _cleaner_ here."

They shared a knowing look and both laughed. Yes, she would call Paul in the morning, but for now she needed sleep.

--

Will splashed some water on his face, welcoming the cooling sensation it had. Paul had crashed on his couch after they had circled the neighbourhood a few times to find Emma. Unfortunately, there was no sign of her, and as they had expected, she wouldn't receive any calls from either of them. The only thing left to do was go back home and have some much needed rest, although Will had to admit that he hadn't gotten a wink of sleep. Worrying kept him up all night.

He was in the process of pouring himself a much needed cup of coffee when Paul's phone went off. Not wanting to wake the man up, Will tiptoed to the corner table and answered the phone himself.

"Hi, Paul.... it's Emma."

"Emma? Where are you? Are you okay?"

"... _Will?_"

"Yeah, Paul's sleeping at the moment, he came over last night and told me everything. I'm so sorry, Emma."

There was silence.

"Look, Emma, can we meet somewhere? I think there's a few things we should probably discuss.."

"That can't happen."

"Why not? Emma, this is important. You, me, even Paul. We need to talk."

"No, Will, that's not what I meant. We can't meet, because I'm not, uh.."

"Paul and I were looking for you all night. We're worried sick, where are you?"

"Oh dear. I'm so sorry, I really should've called sooner, it's just that I couldn't handle.."

"Where are you?"

"England."

"_England?!"_

"I have a cousin here, Rosie, I'm staying with her for the moment until I can figure out what's happening with me and Paul."

"And how about you and me?"

"I don't know what you're talking about, Will."

"You know exactly what I'm talking about."

Emma held the phone quite still, certain that Will could hear the rapid beating of her heart. She certainly hadn't expected him to answer Paul's phone, she had been caught off guard and now he wanted to discuss _things_ with her.

"Will... I.. can I please talk to Paul?"

"He's sleeping."

"Will, _please_?"

"He's _sleeping_. And you're avoiding."

"What do you want me to say, Will? I have no idea what's happening right now, that's the honest truth, my whole life has been turned upside down and I have no idea why I'm even talking to you right now. Fine, if you won't let me talk to Paul then I'll call back later.."

"NO! Don't hang up. I'm sorry, I was just worried about you. To tell you the truth, things have been a little messed up with me too. I'd let you talk to Paul, but I think he needs to clear his head first. I wouldn't want him doing anything stupid."

"It's a bit late for that."

Will breathed in deeply, "heh, I guess you're right.."

"I have to go soon, Will, but could you please take a message for Paul from me?"

"Sure, Emma, what do you want me to tell him?"

"We've got my mother's birthday luncheon on Saturday and as much as I hate the idea, he needs to be there. With me."

"...what? You're kidding, right? You're gonna get back together with him?"

"I'm not sure if we're going to get back together, but you have to understand that my mother isn't exactly fit and young anymore and if she found out about what happened with Paul and me, it might very well break her heart..."

"Don't take him back, Emma."

Emma's heart stopped.

"Don't take him back, not right now at least. Give it time, you both need your space." Will had a funny feeling that he wasn't talking on behalf of his friend anymore, but he was too far in to let Emma go just yet. He wanted a chance and now was as good a time as ever.

"Will... there's nothing I can do about it right now. He needs to be there, otherwise my parents will start asking questions and I don't have the heart to tell them the truth."

"Say he's busy at work."

"It's during the weekend, Will, they'd never believe me."

"Then take me instead."

"That's crazy, Will, I can't just... I can't just.. get _involved_ with you. I only found out about Paul and Terri _hours _ago. This is hard for me, Will, Paul was supposed to be the one."

Will gripped the wall beside him in desperation, "he's not the one, Emma."

"And you're not either, Will."

"Take me with you instead."

"Will, I can't..."

"You can pretend I'm Paul, that way no one will ask you questions. Paul and I are practically twins, they wouldn't even be able to tell the difference."

Emma blinked. He was right, and the idea wasn't exactly horrible either. After all, Paul had only met her parents once or twice, not often enough for them to be able to distinguish him from Will, and she had to admit, Will and Paul _were_ dangerously similar when it came to the looks department. But lying to her parents.. it was crazy. The whole idea was crazy! She couldn't, could she? They'd get caught, and then she'd have an even bigger problem on her hands.

Will waited anxiously for Emma to say something.

"This is completely crazy, Will.."

"But it will work, trust me."

"I'm not in the trusting mood right now."

"Emma, come on, you _know_ it will work. And that way, you'll be able to clear your head before you actually meet with Paul again to discuss things."

There was a pause.

"... okay."

--

Paul got up in time to see Will put down his phone.

"Who was that?"

"It was Emma."

"Is she okay?!"

"Yeah, she's fine. She's staying with family at the moment. Asked me to tell you that she needs some space to sort things out. She'll call you again in a week or so."

"Oh."

Will looked at his friend with a look of sympathy in his eyes, "don't worry, buddy, everything will be fine. She just needs her space, you have to understand.."

"yeah, yeah. You're right. At least I know she's safe. I guess... I guess I should be heading home then."

"I suggest you don't bring Terri along with you this time."

Paul managed a pained laugh, but nodded his head in ardent agreement.

"Hey, if you're not busy, maybe you and I could go out this weekend. Just like the old days." Paul sounded hopeful.

Will forced a smile on his face, "heh, I would... but I'm, uh, I'm busy."

"Oh?"

"Yeah, I've got this family thing I've got to go to."

--

**Don't forget to review! I love hearing what you guys have to say, and it honestly makes me want to write more. For now I know what's gonna be happening with Will/Emma, so hopefully no more long pauses between chapters. Enjoy!**


	13. Chapter 13

**Thanks so much for the reviews! Reviewing every chapter really does help. Makes sure I stay on track :)**

--

He was early – fifteen minutes early – but as Emma had spent the last two hours agonising over what to wear, she was ready. Her bedroom looked like a bomb had hit it and almost every article of clothing she possessed was on the bed or floor, but Will wasn't going to go in that particular room, so it didn't matter. She closed the door firmly. In fact, she'd made up her mind he wasn't going to set foot in the flat let alone her bedroom. This lunch, which they had set up to discuss what was happening on Saturday for her mother's birthday luncheon, was going to be the end of the road. She didn't need a relationship at the moment; she had no intention of letting a man into her life, her mind or her body. She needed control, especially if they were supposed to survive the weekend together. She hadn't even told Rosie about the idea! Hopefully her dear cousin wouldn't ask too many questions.

As she stepped out of her apartment, she noticed him leaning against his car which was parked across the road. He looked... disturbing. His pale blue shirt was tucked into the flat waistband of his trousers and was unbuttoned just enough at the neck to show the hard muscles of his chest. Narrow-waisted and lean-hipped, he had a flagrant masculinity that was impossible to ignore, try as she might. It was intimidating and that made her annoyed, because she didn't want to feel intimidated. It put her at a disadvantage, she needed to be in control and she couldn't be while she was around him.

"Hi," he walked towards her, his thickly lashed blue eyes appreciative as they took in the pale rose skirt and bubblegum pink strapless top she was wearing. She had left her hair loose today, wearing only a touch of mascara and lipgloss, not that it mattered or anything. Today's meeting was strictly to discuss what was going to happen over the weekend. She didn't want him to think she was making an effort to look nice for him, though it had taken her two hours to decide what to wear.. but he didn't need to know that.

"Hello." She knew her cheeks had gone red, but she couldn't do a thing about it.

"I'm glad you decided to meet me," he said softly.

She sucked in a shaky breath, but her voice was surprisingly firm when she said, "the way I remember, I didn't get much of a choice in the matter."

"Ouch," he pretended to wince.

She decided to ignore the sarcasm. After sliding into the car, she straightened her back and folded her hands in her lap so she wouldn't make the mistake of bunching them up again and betraying her tenseness as she'd done the night of the teachers function.

When Will joined her, it took all of Emma's control to maintain the pose. The close confines of the car were too intimate and seductive for her liking.

As he started the engine, she glanced at him, "Where are we going?" she asked with careful steadiness.

"Surprise."

"I don't like surprises."

"Tough." The blue eyes did a laser sweep of her face, "But don't worry, I'm not into spiriting women away and forcing my wicked will on them. I'm here to talk with you Emma."

"Alright then." She said stiffly, refusing to dwell on how large and capable his hands looked on the leather-clad steering wheel, or how those same hands had caressed her the night before in the back of a taxi.

"Good." It was casual, as though he didn't care much, but as she glanced at him, she noticed a small smile was playing about on his firm mouth. "So... do you see your cousin Rosie often?"

Emma's heart plummeted. She didn't want to talk about herself, not to him. She had the feeling that the less Will knew about her, the better. Still, she could hardly refuse to answer his question. She owed him, if it wasn't for his brilliant plan, she might very well be stuck in a car with Paul right now. The thought made her heart sink even lower.

"Maybe a few times a year. Depending on if I can afford to see her or not."

"And you get on well with her?"

"Oh, yes." She was unaware of the sudden warmth in her voice, but Will had certainly noticed it. "She's always been more of a sister to me. My actual sister, Megan, well... I guess you could say that we don't really see much of each other."

"By choice, I take it?"

"... we're just not that close." Emma's stomach clenched. She looked away through the side window so he had no chance of seeing her face. The truth was, Megan had always been the center of attention and sometimes she had gotten the attention of one too many people, but Emma wanted to forget about that right now, she had bigger fish to fry. The past had to stay in the past.

She risked a sideways glance through her lashes. It probably wasn't the moment to notice the way his hair curled ever so slightly into the base of his neck. It wasn't short and it wasn't long, but it suited him perfectly. She wondered how it would feel if she sifted her fingers through the soft strands. And then she caught the errant thought quickly and looked straight ahead before he caught her observing him.

She was going loopy here. What on earth was she doing fantasising about this man? In fact, how come she was with him in the first place? She should've said no! And now she was wishing she had. A weekend with Will and her family? She had her work cut out for her.

By the time they reached the restaurant, Emma just wanted out of the car. She couldn't ever remember being so aware of another human being. Will, on the other hand, appeared perfectly relaxed and at ease, chatting about this and that and keeping the conversation strictly impersonal.

Once inside the restaurant, which was all brass and copper and leaded windows, he led her straight through and out into the small, flower-bedecked garden at the rear.

"This is our table," he pointed to a table for two set next to a lattice of climbing roses which were scenting the air with their rich sweetness. He pulled out a sun-warmed seat and she sank down, the perfume of the flowers and the caress of the sun on her skin blissful.

"They do a great Brunello here," Will said, still standing. "Do you like red wine?"

"Sure."

"I'll get a bottle. I'll have to limit myself to one glass because I've gotta drive, but I guarantee once you taste it, you'll be unable to resist another. Should I order two roast platters while I'm at it?"

Emma nodded. This was nice, too nice.

So was the wine, when it came. The intense chocolate and nutty aroma was a ripe explosion of taste in her mouth, and she closed her eyes and just breathed in the aroma made all the more potent by the hot air. "This is delicious, Will."

"Don't tell me I've found the way to your heart?" Will half-joked.

She raised an eyebrow, "with one glass of wine? I hardly think so."

"The bottle's there, feel free."

She smiled, "so... I suppose I should prepare you for Saturday. My parents names are Gina and Mark. Dad loves to fish, spends a lot of time out by the lake near their place. He looks a bit scary, I'm not going to lie, but he's really just a big friendly giant. The one you have to worry about is my mom, she can be a bit of a monster when it comes to the men in my life. Very protective, more than I'd like, but she's a sweet person really, you've just got to give her time. But she likes Paul, she likes him a lot, so I think you'll be safe. Just make sure to be polite, smile, laugh.. be yourself, I guess. If they ask anything you can't answer, just give me a wink or something and I'll talk you out of it. I'm sure you know enough about Paul to fake your way through the weekend, but just in case you get caught off guard, I'll be there to help."

"And how about your sister? Has she met Paul?"

"Ah... no, actually Megan hasn't met Paul."

"Oh, and why's that?"

"We don't see each other often so I never got a chance to introduce them."

Will got the feeling that she was leaving a lot unsaid, but decided against asking her further. It seemed like a touchy subject for her, though he couldn't imagine why.

Emma looked down at her hands then back up at him, "is there anything I've missed?"

"How many times did Paul meet your parents anyway?"

"Only a few times, in between holidays and things like that. They don't know him too well, but they were fond of him. I think they'd be sad to know what's really happened.."

"It'll be fine, Emma. I know everything there is to know about Paul. They won't suspect a thing."

"So you're up for the challenge then?"

"I promise you that I'm more than up to the task," he assured her softly, putting down his wine glass and taking one of her hands in his. He turned her fingers over so that the soft, vulnerable underside of her wrist was exposed, stroking it with first one finger and then – shockingly – as he raised her hand to his mouth, his warm lips.

"Don't!" she snatched her hand away, almost knocking the wine over. "Don't do that."

"Why not?" He sat back in his chair, his eyes on hers. "It's nothing."

It _was_ nothing, and yet it suggested everything – all forbidden delights of her dreams were in those warm, knowing lips of his. She knew exactly what he was trying to do and she was determined not to acknowledge her own desire and need. She shrugged, "I don't play those sort of games."

There wasn't even a hint of a smile on his lips when he said, "who's playing games?"

--

Emma had wanted to stay remote and detached during their lunch, but she found it almost impossible. Will was easy to talk to and it was a beautiful day outside. The fresh air, the fathomless blue sky above too perfect to waste.

After their lunch and a much needed run-through plans for the weekend, they had both decided that a walk in the park would be a perfect way to spend the rest of the day. They walked side-by-side, almost touching, talking now and again and she found herself relaxing, waves of contentment flowing over her like a balmy breeze.

"You're beginning to burn." Will pulled her into the shade of an old tree, the bottom of its trunk splotched with lichens and velvety moss. The grass was thick and warm as they sat down, and in the distance two young boys were throwing a Frisbee for a shaggy mutt of a dog who was barking enthusiastically as he ran.

Emma turned her head, Will was stretched out beside her, hands clasped under his head and his eyes shut. He opened one eye, "we've had a walk, now it's time for a nap."

This was far too beguiling, "you make us sound like an old married couple," she said flatly, aiming to break the mood. "And I don't nap during the day."

"Try it, it's actually really nice." He reached out one arm and pulled her down beside him, setting her head on his chest. "Even a pillow provided," he drawled lazily, idly stroking her hair. "Now shut your eyes like a good girl and if the idea of germs on the grass begins to freak you out too much, let me know and I'll find a way around it." He winked at her before shutting his eyes completely and shifting comfortably on the grass.

She was as tense as a piano wire for a few minutes, but then as he made no move to kiss her or do anything except stroke her hair, she found herself relaxing. The heat of the day, the dappled shade through the leaves of the tree, the muted sounds in the background all combined to unknot the nerves and make her drowsy. Everything seemed to be alright at that moment – no more Paul, no more parents... it was just her and Will, and this time she didn't feel weird about it. He seemed to realize that she wasn't completely okay with what had happened between them in the taxi, and the fact he had now stopped pushing her for more was reassuring. Emma found herself falling asleep slowly.

When she next opened her eyes, Will was looking down at her. He was propped up on one elbow and her head was now resting on his middle.

"Hello," he said, very softly.

Still dazed with sleep, she murmured, "hello yourself."

When he bent down and kissed her, it seemed the most natural thing in the world to lift her arms about his neck. She still wasn't awake enough to fight the realisation that she had been waiting for this moment all day, despite what she had thought early, she actually wanted him to kiss her again.

He made no attempt to touch any other part of her body, yet every nerve came alive, twanging with sensation as the kiss deepened.

When he drew away, he was breathing hard, his voice gruff when he said, "anymore and I'll forget where I am, and we don't want to frighten any little children, do we?"

She smiled as she was meant to, but she couldn't help wondering if she had imagined the note of what had sounded like surprise in his voice.

He seemed to confirm it, however, when he said, "I'm not sure what you do to me, Emma Pillsbury, but it could get to be like a drug."

"Is that good or bad?" she heard herself flirt with a little stab of amazement, but it all seemed to be part of the lazy afternoon.

"Depends." One finger traced the outline of her lips.

"On what?"

"How often I can get a fix."

Enough. She sat up, brushing her hair out of her eyes as she said, "I told you, I don't.."

"want a relationship. Yes, I remember. So when do you see that changing?"

"What?"

"You'll want to settle down one day, surely, so how do you intend to find Mr. Right if the opposite sex is out of bounds?" he asked smoothly.

She found his presumption galling to say the least. "Why should I want to settle down?"

"You don't want babies some day?"

"No. Yes. I mean.." what did she mean? "babies aren't really part of my future right now. I mean, Paul was supposed to be Mr. Right, and now.."

"That's a little harsh, isn't it?" he asked mildly.

"Not if it prevents any possible children from being mere incidents in someone else's life. I'm the last woman who deserves to become a mother." She'd spoken too quickly and from the heart, without considering her words, and now she could have kicked herself as she watched the piercing gaze of Will's eyes narrow.

"Incidents? What makes you think you'd be a terrible mother?"

Emma made a conscious effort at self-control. She couldn't believe how they had arrived at talking like this. "Let's change the subject."

"Let's not." He rose to his feet, pulling her up with him and keeping her within the circle of his arms when she made an effort to pull away. "Emma, you'd make an amazing mother. The kids at McKinley loved you when you were still around. I'm sorry that you've been made to feel like you're not good enough, but don't let Paul's mistake push your happiness away from you."

"How do you even know that I _want_ to have kids?"

He was quite still for a moment, then he said, "It'd be a crying shame if someone as beautiful and sensitive as you shut herself away from something so amazing."

Emma kept silent, the words stuck in her throat. He was too perceptive for his own good, and it made her feel uncomfortable. How could he expect her to just open up to him like that? The truth was, Emma didn't feel good enough for anybody right now. The one man who was supposed to love and cherish her had turned out to be a lying, cheating bastard and Emma had found herself yet again with a broken heart. How could she be expected to raise children if she couldn't even take care of herself? She was destined to be alone, all her past relationships had proven that. Unlovable, that's what she was.

--

They didn't say much on the way back to Emma's flat, but the air in the car was electric with tension. At least, Emma felt so. Will, on the other hand, sat with his arm dangerously close to hers.

What were they doing? Why was Will suddenly so interested in her? When they were both working at McKinley, he hadn't seemed interested at all and now all of sudden... it just didn't make sense, nothing ever made sense! Maybe she was just another girl to him? The thought hurt her more than she would've liked. What if he was like Paul, after all, they were practically twins. She continued to think in circles until the car drew up outside the house and then, to her surprise, she had a feeling of real panic at the thought of coming home to an empty house. It was ridiculous, as if she hadn't been alone for most of her life anyway, but nevertheless the feeling was there.

"I'll see you to your door," Will said, and this time she didn't object. He escorted her across the pavement, following her inside the house after she had opened the front door.

"Don't look at me like that," he said roughly.

"Like what?" she asked, genuinely hurt by the thread of anger in his voice.

"Like you expect me to treat you badly, manhandle you, hurt you."

She supposed she did expect him to hurt her if she got involved with him, but not in the physical sense he was talking about.

"_Hell,_ Emma." He was suddenly furious and it showed. "Give me a break, won't you. I don't know what's happened to you in the past, with your other relationships, other men, but I'm not them. I'm not Paul, okay? It might be stating the obvious, but I need to say it."

"I know you're not him," she said shakily.

"Do you? I don't think you do, not yet."

She didn't know what to say. Something was happening here and she seemed to have no control over it. She shook her head because she couldn't have spoken to save her life.

"We're just two people who got caught up in something in the wrong place, at the wrong time, Emma, but you know as well as I do that there's a spark there. It's there when I touch you and it's there when I don't. And I like that. It makes me feel alive," he added wryly, his desperation to make Emma understand him egged him on, "I didn't realize till I met you that I was growing stale. So how about we see how this weekend with your family goes? Sure there'll be hurdles, but we'll take them one at a time and see what happens. What do you say?"

She could see the sadness in his eyes.

Every single brain cell was telling her to say no. It was the sensible, the _safe_ thing to do. She had been the same way with Paul and that had ended in disaster. This would too. She knew it at heart. Will would grow bored with her; it was inevitable. Saying no would be the logical thing to do. But she couldn't do it. She couldn't tell him to walk away from her. Not yet.

"... let's see how things go with my family then. Afterwards we can see where.."

"That's all I'm asking, Emma. Give me a chance. I'm not asking for a relationship, not really, I know you need time and space right now after the whole Paul thing, but I want to at least be able to talk to you without you pulling away from me all the time. I want to.. try 'us' out."

"That's all?"

"That's all."

"Then I guess I'll have to say yes."

He pulled her to him in a tight embrace.

--

"Are you absolutely _insane_?!"

That had been the first reaction she had gotten when she had told Rosie about the plan with Will. Rosie, Ian and the twins had just arrived from England for her mother's luncheon and Emma had decided that keeping such a big secret from Rosie would probably be a bad idea. However, after Rosie had paced up and down her living room for an hour, Emma had begun to think that telling her might've been worse.

"Don't worry, Rosie, he looks _exactly_ like him and he knows everything there is to know about Paul, they're bestfriends, so he'll have no trouble convincing my parents that he's Paul."

"Emma, this is crazy. Can you hear what you're saying?"

"I know, I know. I thought that too at the beginning, but you've got to trust me. Just meet him, you'll know what I mean. He's a splitting image of Paul."

Begrudgingly, Rosie had agreed.

Emma watched Will charm his way into Rosie's good graces. Over the past few days he had come to visit after work every day to get to know herself and Rosie a bit more. They'd spend hours just talking, and because they had appearances to keep up, he had teased and kissed her almost lovingly while Ian and the kids were around, Emma finding herself not at all too object to his light caresses.

He arrived at her apartment with a delicious passionfruit cheesecake, "I thought it'd go down better with the twins than a bunch of roses or something," he murmured to Emma, who still found it increasingly difficult to say _Paul_ instead of _Will_ when addressing him. Rosie had thought it best not to let Ian and the twins in on their plan, the less people who knew, the better.

When Will and Rosie had begun an in-depth conversation concerning the merits of certain herbs in certain dishes and other culinary delights, Emma had found herself beginning to doze. She'd had a hard week, having to continue going to work and helping out kids with their problems, while having to sort out her own. Soon enough, she fell asleep, lulled by the seductive comfort of the couch and warm evening air.

She was woken by a lingering kiss on her lips. She opened her eyes to find Rosie, Ian and the twins nowhere to be seen. "Where have they gone?" she asked Will drowsily, curious as to why he had woken her with a kiss.

"Went for a walk. The twins wanted to try and catch some butterflies." His expression changed, "were you bored earlier?" he asked softly.

"Bored?" She gazed into the handsome face and wondered if he was aware of how devastatingly gorgeous he was. "How could anyone be bored listening to the merits of basil and thyme, or curd cheese over butter icing?"

He was getting used to her chaffing him. She had decided earlier that the only way she was going to hold onto her control was not to fall foul of his charm _again_.

He grinned at her now and she caught her breath as the blue eyes crinkled sexily at the corners. "Worked though, didn't it?" he said with a great deal of satisfaction. "Rosie, Ian and the twins are now putty in my hands."

"I'll set them straight once this is all over," she promised drily.

"Come here." His voice had changed and as she stood up, he pulled her into his arms, his tone husky as he said, "I've been wanting to do this all evening." His kiss was fierce, hungry, and she found her body responding to him in kind. It was always like that, no matter how much she tried to stop herself.

They stood moulded together and swaying slightly as their hands explored each other while their mouths fused. Will nipped and sipped and savoured the sweet taste of her, pressing the tip of his tongue against her throat where her pulse pounded in reaction. He knew just what buttons to press, exactly how to please her. But she knew that this wasn't the right time or place, what they were doing wasn't necessary because there was no one they had to keep up appearances for. Will and Emma weren't a couple, Paul and Emma were, and as far as she was concerned, people who weren't dating didn't kiss like this.

"Rosie and the kids will be back any minute." She pulled back reluctantly.

His eyes had turned a deeper blue than usual and she smiled at him awkwardly.

"I want you, Emma. I wish you would believe me when I said that. This doesn't only have to be for show, this can be real if you want it to be." He ran one fingertip down her throat and into the dip between her breasts and she shivered. "And you want me. I can see it in your eyes."

Wanting was dangerous. Needing even more so. She stared at him, her eyes enormous in the shadows which were encroaching as night fell.

The sudden arrival of one of the twins shooting through to the lounge followed by Ian calling out that they were back from their walk brought the very unsatisfactory conversation to a close. Emma got her wish, because Will let go of her, bending down to pick up one of the twins and twirl her around in an imitation airplane.

"Sorry we've been a while, but the girls were so busy running around and chasing all sorts of things that it was difficult to get away." Ian said, a bit out of breath. "Now it's time for coffee, yes? What do you take yours with, Paul?"

Emma made an excuse and left the two men to it. When she reached her neat pink and cream bathroom, she locked the door behind her and sank down on the edge of the bath. She was trembling and she didn't seem able to stop. He had said that he wanted her, but _wanting_ didn't equate to staying together or fidelity or dependability or any of those sorts of things.

She ran her hand through her hair before groaning softly. This was all happening too fast. It was hard keeping up appearances, sometimes she wasn't sure where Paul started and Will began. Will played the part of doting boyfriend with such ease, it scared Emma, it was too familiar, Paul had been exactly the same.

She got up and walked over to her basin, washing her hands frantically before drying them on a rose-embroidered towel, her head buzzing.

When Paul left her life so unpleasantly, she hadn't crumbled like she thought she might. She had been crying on the inside, but she'd gritted her teeth and presented the normal, capable Emma to the rest of the world. Only Rosie had understood what his betrayal had meant to her. Of course she hadn't given herself wholeheartedly to Paul, she realized that now, but if she stayed with Will... she might get too close.

She raised her head and stared at the wide-eyed girl in the mirror. _Because she loved him_, she thought sickly, facing it for the first time. It had started at McKinley, and she guessed her feelings had never changed, even as she had left and started a relationship with Paul. In a twisted sort of way, she had been the one to betray Paul first. Her pride and fragile self-esteem had been hurt when she had seen Paul with Terri, but her heart hadn't been broken. There was only one person who could do that, and he was outside drinking coffee with Ian.

Emma sank down on the edge of the bath again, staring at the rose tiles without really seeing them. Right, she thought grimly. Where did she go from here? If she went into this for real, it would involve staying at his place and him at hers, that much had been clear from what he'd said outside about not wanting her in little snatched moments or the odd evening. It might even involve them living together. How would she survive if – when – it finished?

A coldness invaded her limbs in spite of the warm night air and she shivered. What sort of heartache would she be letting herself in for? How would she pick up the pieces and carry on?

She squeezed her eyelids tightly shut and tried to _think_. She was afraid to care and afraid to be cared for. That was what it boiled down to. He wouldn't cheat on her while he was with her, unlike Paul, he wasn't like that. But if he got bored of her and fell in love with some glamorous, exciting woman he attracted on a daily basis..

She took a long shaky breath. And she couldn't expect anything else to happen long-term, not realistically. Emma wasn't the sort of woman men wanted to be with for the rest of their lives. She was the sort of woman men dated _before_ they found the love of their lives.

An increase of pressure from somewhere inside her chest made it difficult for her to breathe. She had known from the beginning that she should have said no to his ridiculous idea, but she had miscalculated. She had thought it was Will who was dangerous, but in fact it had been her own feelings that were the real hazard. From the first time she'd met him, she had known there was something there, but at the time there was nothing she could do about it so she had decided to ignore her feelings and disappear. And now everything was a million times worse.

She couldn't be what he wanted. She rose and began to pace back and forth. And that was it in a nutshell really. She wouldn't be able to let him go gracefully when the time came; in fact, she wouldn't be able to let him go at all. And then it would all turn horribly messy and nasty. It happened, all the time.

But not to her.. not this time. She stopped pacing and became very still. She wouldn't let the same thing happen to her again, for the millionth time. This was the point where she had to take control. Okay, it was hellishly late in the day, but better late than never. She smiled bleakly.

--

**Author's note: Wow, these chapters keep getting longer and longer. Reckon I should make them even longer or was this chapter too long? I don't want to overload you guys or anything. Thoughts on this chapter? Too much going on? Is the story moving too fast?**


	14. Chapter 14

Will and the rest of the gang were sitting eating meringues and drinking coffee when she joined them.

"Excuse us starting without you, love, but you were such a long time in there." Rosie gazed up at her, her smile changing to a frown of concern. "Are you alright, Emma? You look horribly pale all of a sudden."

"I have a headache." It was true, she did. Her head was pounding.

"Oh, I'm sorry, sweetie." Her cousin jumped up, "I'll get some aspirin."

When Rosie had disappeared into the kitchen, Will leant across and took one of her hands. "You're cold," he said quietly. "You must be getting ill or something. Do you want me to stay tonight? I'll sleep on the couch."

What she wanted was to turn the clock back to the time before she had met him. A time in which there had been no crazy highs and lows, just a steady calm stroll through life. She nodded, wincing as the movement sent pain shooting through her eyeballs. A migraine. She hadn't had one of those in months.

By the time she had swallowed the aspirin and Ian had put the twins to bed, bright lights were flashing at the back of her eyes. Emma knew the signs. She had had a series of migraines at university which the doctor there had put down to an excess of stress. She would be nauseous soon; she could feel her stomach beginning to churn already.

She stumbled as Will helped her up, holding her by the small of the back, but she didn't have the strength to protest.

"You need a doctor." His voice sounded so loud he could have been shouting, her hearing sensitised a hundredfold.

"It's just a migraine, I'll be fine. You should be getting home now, it's late."

Rosie looked at Emma in concern, "sweetie, I think Wi – I mean _Paul_ – is right. You look like death."

"I'll take you back to my place. That way I can be sure you're safe."

Emma stumbled backwards onto the couch again, groaning as the impact of her fall reached her head in a crashing thud. "Don't be ridiculous, I'll be absolutely fine in the morning."

Will and Rosie looked at each other, both seeming to think the exact opposite. "I think he's right, love, you definitely need a doctor. I'd love to take care of you myself, but Ian and the twins are a handful as it were and.."

"I'll stay, sleep on the couch, that way you can take care of your family while I make sure Emma's okay."

Rosie smiled, nodding her head, "I think that'd probably be the best. She needs all the attention she can get right now and there's no doctor that would take her at this hour. You can stay here till morning and I'll try and take things from there."

Emma tried protesting, but the two were already nodding heads and sorting things out. She didn't have the power to stop them. "Since you two have already decided... could you please just quiet down? I want to go to bed."

Will rolled up his sleeves and waved Rosie off, "I'll take things from here," he whispered quietly.

He carefully held Emma's hand and lead her through to her bedroom. Once she was sitting on her bed, she said again. "I'll be fine, you can go. I just really want some sleep now."

"Fine. I'll help you. Where's your nightie or whatever you wear?"

Emma opened one eye and then wished she hadn't as the equivalent of a laser blast hit her brain. "I'm quite capable of undressing myself," she said irritably, wincing as her voice added to the drums beating in her head. "Now, if you'll just go and leave me alone so I can sleep.."

"I'll wait outside until you're in bed."

For heaven's sake! After the door had closed, Emma slipped out of her clothes without opening her eyes and moving the least she could. She didn't bother trying to find her nightie, which was folded up in the bedside cabinet, sliding under the thin summer duvet with a sigh of relief. A few minutes later, she heard the door open and then a deep voice at the side of her said, "There's a drink of water beside you if you need it."

"Thank you." Go, just go, she thought.

"Are you warm enough? You were cold earlier."

In actual fact, she was still cold; migraines seemed to make her feel that way. There was a quick debate in her aching mind as to whether she should admit to it or just send him home. "There's a hot water-bottle in one of the chest drawers," she said with her eyes still closed, "it's got a Cinderella cover on it."

A moment's pause, and then he said, "I've got it."

In no time at all, he was back. When she heard the door open, Emma slid an arm from under the covers, "thanks." She was feeling worse if anything. She'd had special medication prescribed for her at university, but since the migraines had waned and then disappeared altogether, she hadn't thought to renew the prescription. She wished now that she had. Rosie's aspirin wasn't even touching the pain.

"Anything else I can do?"

"No. No, thanks," she added, knowing she'd been too abrupt in the beginning.

"I'll leave you to get some sleep then."

She was aware of his lips brushing her brow and then the door closed again. She lay completely still because the slightest movement jarred her head unbearably, and after a few moments she heard the front door close. He had gone. Tense muscles relaxed. If she was sick again, at least she could do it without an audience!

Then she berated herself for being so mean when Will had tried to be so nice. But she'd lied to him when she said the nausea was going away and that she was feeling better, that everything was fine. She still felt like hell, even worse than she did before.

The aspirin must have worked to a small degree, because she dozed for a while. She had no idea of how long she'd been in bed when she suddenly knew she had to get to the bathroom again. Throwing back the duvet, she struggled to her feet, but after making the mistake of opening her eyes once, she didn't try it again, feeling her way out of the room instead. She reached the bathroom without mishap, only to find the waves of nausea receding. She felt behind her gingerly for the bath and sat on the edge of it as she tried to decide if she dared go back to bed. She felt she might throw up any minute.

"What are you doing?"

The shock of Will's voice brought her eyes open and a thousand daggers pierced her brain. She was as naked as the day she was born and here he was spying on her! "What am _I_ doing?" she croaked furiously, grabbing a bath towel and pulling it around her. "What are _you_ doing? I heard you leave hours ago." She glared at him, colour rising to her cheeks.

"I went to a local pharmacy for something a bit better than aspirin," he said with magnificent calmness. But then he wasn't the one with no clothes on. "I was going to give you a couple of pills when you woke up."

"You've been here the whole time?" She shut her eyes again, partly because the pain was too intense to keep them open, but mainly because she didn't dare look at him a moment longer. He had seen her stark naked and not in a nice romantic way either. No, his first sight of her totally naked had to be when she was feeling like death and no doubt looking it too. And he had added insult to the injury by switching on the light as he'd walked in the bathroom.

"I've been napping on the couch."

That would've been fine by her if he had _stayed_ there.

"Come on, get back to bed and I'll fix you a hot drink so you can have a couple of these pills," Will said comfortably, as though he hadn't just put her through her worst nightmare. It didn't help that in the brief glare she'd indulged in she'd noticed a dark stubble on his chin which made him look ten times more sexy than usual, if that were possible. That and the open-necked shirt and rumpled hair.

"It's three in the morning, so if you have a couple now you might start feeling better towards lunchtime when you wake up. I'm assured these knock you out like a light."

Emma pulled the towel tighter round her and stood shakily to her feet, allowing him to lead her back to the bedroom because it was easier than arguing. Once she was in bed, she lay listening to the sounds from the kitchen, but the pain was so bad again her embarrassment had vanished. Nevertheless, she made sure the duvet was wrapped around her like a second skin when she sat up to take the warm milk and pills Will had brought.

"Thank you." It was reluctant, which wasn't very nice, she admitted to herself.

"No problem. Drink it all up."

"You really can go now," she said as she heard him walk towards the door. "You said yourself I'll sleep till lunchtime."

He didn't answer her, merely closing the door gently behind him, which was somehow more aggravating than any argument.

--

The next time Emma opened her eyes, there was a chink of bright sunlight stealing through where the curtains had parted a little, but she found it didn't cause her to wince anymore. She felt incredibly tired and somewhat fragile, but the piercing pain was a thing of the past, just a normal sort of headache remaining.

She moved her eyes carefully to the little alarm clock on her bedside table, experience warning her that any sudden movements could remind the pain to return. One o'clock. _One o'clock?!_ She really had slept till lunchtime, she thought in amazement. But there was no doubt that the pills Will had given her had worked, she felt much better.

Speaking of Will, was he still there? Now she could open her eyes without fear of sharp pain, she slowly sat up and reached into the cabinet for a nightie. Once it was on she felt better, even though she was dying for a bath.

He wouldn't still be there, surely? But then she would never have dreamt he would remain last night. Her cheeks flamed as she remembered the incident in the bathroom. But it _had_ been nice for him to be so concerned. She hadn't expected that somehow.

She swung her legs out of bed and rose to her feet. Her head thudded a little, otherwise she didn't feel too bad. She found her bathrobe and fluffy slippers, brushing her hair through at her dressing table and groaning at the sight of her white face. She looked awful. Still, she'd probably looked even worse last night.

Five minutes later and she was in the kitchen, looking at Will who was busy cooking bacon. He had looked around and smiled at her entrance before saying, "I was going to bring you a tray, but now you're here we'll eat at the table with the rest of your family, they're having lunch already... how are you feeling?"

His blue eyes briefly met hers again and Emma found she had to lick her lips dry before she could reply. "Lots better," she managed huskily. "And thanks for staying and the pills and everything."

She stared at this back. Considering what she had decided the night before, Will making himself so at home here was not a good idea. It was too cosy, too.. _familiar_. It spoke of things that could never be and she was going to find it hard enough as it was once he had gone from her life. But she couldn't very well tell him to leave, not when he'd spent the night on her sofa because he'd been concerned about her.

He turned around, putting a rack of toast on a tray before skimming her mouth with his lips. He had returned his attention to the bacon before she could react.

"Peppermint," he said thoughtfully.

"What?"

"Your taste this morning. Peppermint."

"I brushed my teeth," she said unnecessarily. "Will, we have to talk. What we were discussing last night, I don't know.." she faltered, not knowing how to go on.

The muscles across his back had tensed but his voice sounded perfectly normal when he said, "not before we eat. I'm starving and I can't talk on an empty stomach."

"I'm not hungry."

He turned with two plates, putting one in front of her. "Eat, Emma," he said softly. "We can talk another time. Don't worry."

She risked a glance at him and then wished she hadn't. She wanted him. She wanted him so much, She reached for a slice of toast and put a little of the scrambled egg from her plate on it. Mechanically, she began to eat. Another time, he had said. So she didn't have to say goodbye today. It was worth the migraine.

--

Emma sat staring at the file spread out on her desk in front of her, but her mind was miles away. Should she have taken the bull by the horns and called off the whole charade before Will had left yesterday? She'd had plenty of opportunities because he had stayed most of the afternoon.

She wriggled in her seat. But it had been so _nice_, she wailed silently. Special. She had lain with her head in his lap on the sofa and he had stroked her hair as they had talked and laughed with Ian and Rosie. He had been tender and gentle and relaxed; it had been one of the few times when she'd been with him and had not been assailed by a hundred and one different emotions, all of them disturbing. He had looked after her, she thought with a feeling which was half pain and half pleasure. He hadn't thought of his own needs at all; he'd been wrapped up in caring about her.

The phone on her desk rang and she picked it up automatically, still thinking of Will, "Miss Pillsbury speaking. How can I help you?"

"I can think of a few ways.."

"Will?" She could hear the warmth in her voice and tried to moderate her tone as she continued, "What are you doing calling at ten in the morning?"

"Just want to know how my favourite girl is," he said with a laugh.

Emma shut her eyes and took a deep breath, "more or less back to normal, except for feeling extra tired, but a few early nights will fix that."

She wondered if he'd picked up on the subtle hint that she wouldn't be seeing him that night. She had known as she'd waved him goodbye the evening before – after a kiss that had set her toes tingling, never mind the rest of her – that she had to cool things down rapidly. It was time to take a big step backwards and maybe if she did that he would do the same. If they could leave each other after the weekend was all over it would all be for the best. Wouldn't it?

"Emma? Are you still there?"

"Yes, sorry. Someone was handing me something," she lied quickly.

"Well, I'd better not stay on any longer. I think Sue's on her way here. Look after yourself and don't work too hard, okay? I'll ring you later."

"Yes, alright. Bye."

"Bye, sweetheart."

The receiver went click at the other end, but Emma stared at the phone in her hand for some time before slowly returning it to its stand. Sweetheart. She couldn't remember him calling her that before, not even when Ian or the twins were around, and his voice had been different when he'd said it – warm, soft, as though he'd really meant it.

Stop it. She was thinking again and she thought too much. She had decided action was the only answer to this incredible tangle she'd gotten herself in, and action spelt distance in this case. She just hadn't expected it would be herself doing the distancing this time. But that was fine, just fine. It _was_. It had to be.

--

Will rang just as she was getting into bed that night. "Emma? It's Will. I haven't got long, but I wondered how you're feeling? Headache still under control?"

She sat on the edge of the bed stupidly, her mouth opening and shutting, her heart pounding at the sound of his voice. She hadn't expected him to call. "I feel fine," she said at last, her voice thankfully steadier than she felt. And then, as a burst of laughter came down the line, she added, "Where are you?"

"Out to dinner with some friends. Sorry, it's a bit noisy, but it's the first chance I've had to call."

"You shouldn't have bothered." That sounded awful, she winced. "You've got plenty of things to worry about without worrying about me," she quickly said.

"Perhaps I want to worry about you," he said softly, or as softly as the background noise would allow. "Anyway, just wanted to make sure you're okay and if you're ready for this weekend."

"Are you taking me somewhere?" She asked stupidly.

"Uh.. we've got your mother's birthday, remember?"

"My mother's birthday?"

"Emma, you're repeating everything I say," he said patiently. "Look, I've got to go." The noise swelled even more. "I'll see you Friday evening. Have you got everything packed? Rosie gave me directions to your parents place, didn't realize it was so far. Ian and her are staying at this nice hotel nearby, so I took the liberty of getting us rooms at the same place. It's about an hours drive away from your parents house. Should be nice."

"Will, about this weekend.."

"Look, I really have to go now," he said quickly. "Bye, sweetheart."

Two sweethearts. Emma stared at the carpet. Two sweethearts. This was definitely the lead up to the big seduction scene, right? It's like how it was in the movies. And then she immediately dismissed the thought, telling herself not to be so cynical. Will wasn't into mind games the way Paul had been.

But he hadn't given her a chance to talk, to explain to him that this weekend couldn't happen. She had decided after his call that morning that actually going through with the plan would cause more trouble than it was worth and now they were going to stay at some lush hotel or whatever. She would have to talk to him when he came to pick her up on Friday evening. This craziness had to stop.

She rubbed her hand across her face to wipe away the tears seeping down her cheeks. How would she bear not seeing him again? How was she actually going to say goodbye? But far better to do it now than drag it out for a few months, by which time she would be unable to exist without him. Maybe she could disappear to England with Rosie, get a job there, start new again. Never return home, never return to him. This was self-preservation at its rawest.

--

By Friday evening, Emma was a nervous wreck. In spite of knowing she was determined to _not_ go through with the plan, she found herself packing an overnight bag just in case. Since the phonecall, she hadn't seen or spoken to him for a few days. She figured he must've been tied up at work, especially having to deal with Sue. And Paul.

When the doorbell went a moment later, Emma jumped so much she nearly fell off her chair. Telling herself she had to be the most feeble woman in the world, she walked to the door and opened it slowly.

"Hi." She breathed deeply, willing herself to calm down. _You can do this_, she told herself firmly, ignoring the racing of her heart. _Just be cool and calm_. No tears, no hysterics, no big scene. The 'we can still be friends' scenario, even though she knew that would be a lie.

Will was leaning against the stanchion, an enormous bunch of flowers in his hand. He wasn't smiling; in fact, his expression was one she hadn't seen before, almost brooding. The next moment she was in his arms, the flowers tossed carelessly on to the carpet.

He covered her lips with his in a kiss of such explosive desire that the world stopped, or Emma's world at least. He'd kissed her hungrily before, passionately, until her legs had become weak and her mind befuddled, but nothing – _nothing_ like this.

Her arms had wrapped around his waist and she pressed against him, wanting to absorb his heat and his strength, needing to fuse their bodies together. Curves melted against hard angular planes, tense thighs against soft feminine places until neither of them could have said where one body began and the other finished.

Will pulled his mouth away for a millisecond to fill his lungs, but then his mouth returned to hers as though he couldn't bear even a moment of separation. His tongue touched hers, probing, urging her to respond, and she gave herself up to the wonder of pure sensation.

He had moved one hand to her head to hold her in place, one leg slid between hers to bring his lower body in alignment with her hips as he moved against the wall, pinning her against him. The action both eased and increased the rocketing sensations shooting to every part of her body and she caught her breath at the sharp pleasure.

"Hell, I've missed you." He lifted his head slightly so he could look into her face. "You have no idea.."

She had. Oh, she had.

"I've dreamed of doing this every hour of every damn night." He bent his head again to tease one corner of her mouth with his tongue, before kissing her cheek, her jawline, then forging a burning trail to her ear.

"Say you've missed me," he murmured, his breath in her ear making her shiver with delicious anticipation. "Say it."

"I've missed you." She arched against him, her body saying it too.

He shifted her in his arms, his hands running over her soft curves and cupping the slight swell of her breasts through the soft fabric of her top. She gasped against him and he smiled, a slow, masculine smile that made her toes curl.

"You feel great," he said very softly. "You taste great too."

He chuckled and shifted her in his arms, but then, instead of continuing to kiss her, he reached down and picked up the discarded flowers. "Put them in water before we go," he said quietly.

She took the flowers without saying anything, walking with them into the kitchen where she buried her hot face in the fragrant freesias and soft white roses. She drank in their perfume, not thinking, not allowing any thought to come into her mind. Then she filled a vase with cool water and put the bouquet in it just as it was. She would arrange them properly when she came back.

Because she was going.

She was going to have this one weekend if nothing else, she told herself, still a little dazed and numbered by the powerful emotions which had been released between them. It was probably the most stupid thing she would ever do in her life, a guarantee of emotional suicide at some point in the future, but suddenly she didn't care. He was there, here with her, and for the moment that was enough.

--

They had arrived at the hotel in no time at all, Emma calling her parents the minute they stepped foot indoors.

"Yes, Paul is here with me. We'll get there as soon as we can tomorrow morning, for now I think we'll stay here. It's far too late to be driving anyway."

"Alright dear, if you think it's for the best. Say hello to Paul for me, would you?"

"Will do. Bye, mom," Emma put down the phone and looked up. What she thought would be a hotel was the complete opposite. Instead, she found herself being shown around a quiet villa-type house with beautiful furniture.

"Good, Rosie's left the lights on for us. She and Ian are staying in a similar place a few houses down from here. Hopefully she's also stocked up the fridge in this place, because I'm afraid I have no food with me at the moment."

Emma looked at Will with a look of disbelief in her eyes, "I thought you said we were staying at a _hotel_?"

Will grinned, "Well... it _is_ a hotel. Just a different sort. Rosie thought it would be best to stay here, away from the rest of your family. It'd mean we could be ourselves sometimes without having to pretend to be Paul and Emma, the obedient couple. I think it's nice, don't you?"

"Yes, it is nice, but how are we supposed to pay for this?"

"Your mom offered."

"I figured as much.." Her parents were rather well off, after all.

By the downstairs cloakroom off the hall she was currently standing in, an open tread wooden staircase led to four generous-sized double bedrooms, all with _en suite_ bathrooms, and a gigantic master bedroom. This room caused Emma to take a sharp breath when she first entered it. It wasn't the walk-in dressing room, which would have swallowed her sitting room at home, or even the en suite bathroom, which was more luxurious that any she had ever seen before. It was the bed. It was more an ocean of billowy space than anything else, it hardly resembled any bed she'd come across before.

After looking around the rest of the house, which was equally as beautiful, they set about making some dinner, Will doing most of the cooking as Emma wasn't really all too handy in the kitchen. Rosie had even stopped by to give them some dessert which Ian and the kids had failed to finish. It was delicious and Emma thanked her graciously.

"You two behave yourself now," she said with a wink, before waving goodbye to Emma and smiling at Will.

Will had disappeared into the house with the dirty dishes and empty bottle of wine. He refused to let Emma help, kissing her thoroughly before he left until she felt she was drowning in the taste and feel of him.

She sat in the balmy quiet of the scented garden, wrapped in a sensual glow that didn't fade before he returned. As he placed a cup of coffee before her, she wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling his mouth to hers. "I've missed you," she said throatily, half smiling.

"I'll have to leave you more often." He kissed her again before he straightened, adding, "drink your coffee before it gets cold."

Emma glanced at him from under her eyelashes as she sipped the warm frothy drink. The black denim added to the aura of masculinity and he made her legs weak. What was going to happen tonight? Would he want more than she was willing to give?

They talked inconsequentials as they sat there, the flickering candles slowly burning down and the star studded sky above. When Will at last rose to his feet, pulling her up with him, Emma felt a brief moment of panic. She wasn't experienced like other women. She didn't know any little tricks or moves to keep a man interested. She just had herself to offer and suddenly that didn't seem nearly good enough.

As he put his arm around her, she shivered.

"Cold?" He pulled her tighter into the warm protection of his body. His hands began caressing her, their touch as light as down and unthreatening. Slowly she relaxed, her head falling back against his shoulder, her eyes drowsy with desire as they met his. He lowered his head, nipping and teasing at her lips between planting little kisses on her chin, her nose, her closed eyelids. When his mouth finally took hers, his tongue thrusting deep into the warm moisture within, it was a kind of consummation, a woman accepting the powerful thrust of a man inside her body and Emma moaned softly.

He led her into the house still wrapped in his arms and they walked slowly up the stairs, each step punctuated with more caresses and soft murmurings. When they reached the landing, Emma didn't realize for a moment where he was leading her. Then, as he opened the bedroom door and she stared into the pretty room beyond her, her eyes opened wide.

"But I thought.."

"What did you think, sweetheart?" He asked softly.

She stared at him, so taken aback she didn't know what to say.

"Did you think I agreed to help you out with your family only so I could have my wicked way with you?" he continued silkily. "I told you before, I'm not Paul."

"I know." Her voice was barely a whisper and his face gentled.

"No, you don't, not yet. Make no mistake, Emma, I want you. I want you so much I walk the floor some nights when cold showers don't do the trick. But you're not ready yet. I need you to want this as much as I do."

"But I do want it.."

"No, not that way. I need you to want _us_."

Over the past couple of days, he had gotten closer to Emma, more so than he had ever done in the past, and he found that he liked it, he craved it and he could see it in her eyes that she wanted it too, she just wouldn't let herself admit it yet. He couldn't let Emma go once this was all over, not after he had gotten so close. She was such a refreshing change from every other woman he'd ever known, when she smiled his whole world seemed a little brighter. His heart ached when she wasn't near, the difficult part was making her admit it too.

Emma's throat was locked and she couldn't utter a sound. She had never felt more confused in her life.

"You're bound up by fear; you know that, don't you?"

"Fear?" It unlocked her voice, "I'm not afraid."

"Yes, you are. I thought it was of me at first, but the more I've gotten to know you, I see it's not that. You frighten yourself, Emma."

She took a step away from him. "I don't know what you're talking about," she said, backing into the bedroom.

"You're frightened that the person you are isn't good enough or worthy enough or whatever it is." A note of anger was in his voice for the first time. "It's this thing you've got stuck in your head because of what all these men have done in the past. You know, if they hadn't been such jerks, I'd actually say I was sorry for them."

"_What?_" Now she was angry. It put adrenalin where it was needed and burnt up the feeling of a few moments before which had had her wanting to cry. "Why?" she snapped.

"Because you were waiting for Paul to let you down, for all of them to let you down, weren't you? All along. And when it finally happened, it confirmed you had been right. Paul had followed the pattern. You damn near led him into it."

"I did not!" Her face was flushed; she glared at him, her hands clenched at her sides. "How dare you say that?"

"Think about it," he ground out. "You pick men who you doubt, who you feel you can't trust. It's this victim mentality. You're the school councillor, you know exactly what I'm talking about."

"Victim?" It was fortunate that Will had brought her to this villa instead of a hotel, because Emma's shout of sheer outrage would have woken every guest in the place.

She didn't have to think about what to do next. Her hand shot out with such speed it surprised them both, but Will more so. Her last sight of him he was nimbly springing backwards as she slammed the door shut with enough force to have broken his nose, if it weren't for his quick reflexes.

How dared he? How _dared_ he say those things to her? She called him every name under the sun under her breath. And to think, she might have gone to bed with him tonight; she must be insane! She would never forgive him for this, never. If it wasn't the middle of the night, she'd be straight out of there to find the nearest railway station back home.

She marched across to the en suite bathroom, opening the door and surveying the expanse of cream and fold which echoed the colour scheme of the bedroom. She was glad to see there was a nice big bath because if ever she needed a long soak rather than a shower, it was now.

Thirty minutes and a refill of hot water later, Emma's rage was beginning to be replaced by self-pity. Half an hour after that she began to ask herself if there was a grain of truth in Will's accusations. At three o'clock in the morning, after two hours in the bath and with her skin resembling the texture of a shrivelled pinky-white peach, she finally admitted to herself that he did have a point.

But she was mad at him. She rubbed herself vigorously with a towel before wrapping herself in an enormous bath sheet and padding through to the bedroom, her fiery red hair dripping wet. He didn't need to be so offensive, she told herself, and as for saying he felt sorry for Paul! She couldn't believe it, it seemed so unlike him.

He obviously thought she was crazy; if only he'd made that clear before they had decided to go through with the plan, it would have saved them both a lot of trouble. And she didn't give a damn what he thought anyway.

The tears came about four o'clock, but after a good howl she fell fast asleep and slept through until a knock on the bedroom door woke her. She opened her eyes to a room filled with sunlight and lay for a second of absolute confusion as to where she was. Then she remembered. As another knock sounded, she scrambled up in bed, glancing around frantically as though a hole would open up in front of her.

Calm, Emma, you have to be _calm_. As her thudding heart threatened to jump into her throat, she forced herself to take a deep breath. He was a brute and she loathed him. That being the case, she would treat him with utter contempt this morning and be on her way out of his life as soon as they got this weekend over with. She refused to reflect on what she must look like with no make-up, eyes swollen from the tears of the night before and her hair – which had dried itself – one gigantic tangle.

"Come in," she called tightly, adjusting the duvet under her armpits with her arms lying across her lap and her hands clasped.

"Good morning."

He had the nerve to smile at her, she noticed, as he came into the room carrying a tray holding a cup of tea and a small plate of biscuits. She also noticed that he was wearing a black cotton robe and matching pyjama bottoms, and his hair was damp from a shower. He looked handsome, she thought angrily.

"Good morning," she answered grimly.

"Sleep well?"

"Perfectly well, thank you."

"Breakfast will be another half an hour or so, but I thought you might like a cup of tea. I assume it is tea you drink in the mornings rather than coffee, right?"

She stared at him. She always had at least two cups of tea before she could begin to function in the mornings, but she was dead if she was going to admit that he was right about anything today. She shrugged, taking the tray as he came to stand close to the bed before nodding her thanks.

"Not really," she lied coolly. "Either tea or coffee is fine by me."

"Funny that. I'd pegged you down as a tea girl."

He'd got her down as a lot of things as he'd made only too plain the night before. After taking the tray she refused to look at him, keeping her eyes on the teacup. "Really?" She said, putting disinterest into the one word.

"You're mad at me."

She raised her eyebrows. "Why would I be mad at you?" she asked coldly.

"I don't know, unless it's because I've made you face up to a few things."

To be perfectly honest, Will wasn't so sure why he had been so brutal to her the night before. He supposed it was just his desperation to get her to realize what they had, and to do that he needed to make her see that all her problems were created mostly by her own paranoia. She had been hurt too many times in the past, he could tell that easily, but he'd be damned if he let her ruin his chances with her this time. If need be, he'd try every trick in the book. It was actually quite thrilling, he couldn't remember the last time he ever wanted someone so badly as he wanted Emma.

"Hardly." She said stiffly.

"You look adorable when you sulk."

The thread of amusement in his voice was reflected in the quirk to his mouth and Emma was sorely tempted to throw the tea over him. She'd decided on cool disdain instead of an angry tantrum and that was what she was sticking to.

"Where is the nearest railway station?"

"Why?" he asked calmly.

"Isn't it obvious?"

"Not to me."

"Well, I wouldn't dream of bothering you to run me back home when you've only just got here," she said with heavy sarcasm.

"Good." He had been standing looking down at her, but now he sat on the bed. Emma's senses went into hyperdrive. "But you aren't going anywhere other than to do some birthday shopping for your mother with me today, so stop with the cold shoulder and finish your tea." He leant forward as he spoke, depositing a firm but swift kiss on her lips before standing again and walking to the door. "I mean it, Emma," he said evenly, all amusement gone from his face and voice. "You're spending the weekend here as planned. I'm meeting your family. End of discussion."

She glared at him, hot colour burning her cheeks. How could he make her feel like such a child when he had been the one who was way out of line? "You can't keep me here by force," she said tightly.

"No, I can't, and I don't want to." He stood with his hand on the door handle, eyeing her with the piercing blue gaze which seemed to look right into her soul. "I was being cruel to be kind last night, can't you see that?"

"I thought that was the excuse people normally use when they're caught mistreating someone or something."

"Then you thought wrong, in this case at least. I said what I said because I care, Emma. Think about it." He opened the door and exited the room before she could answer.

She sat, trying to ignore the dull ache in her chest. She wanted to stay mad at him. She _needed_ to stay mad at him. By his own admission he had been cruel to her last night. How could he say he had been like that because he cared about her? How much did he care about her? Was he even telling the truth?

Once she had showered and changed, she looked herself in the mirror. As much as she hated to admit it, Will hadn't been completely wrong about her. There was truth in what he said, and though it annoyed her, she couldn't stay mad at him forever, especially if they were supposed to convince her family that they were the happy couple.

He was sitting in the breakfast room, it's French doors open to the fresh scents from the garden and a row of covered dishes at one end of the big pine table. He looked up as she entered, throwing the newspaper he had been reading to one side as he rose to his feet.

He had waited to eat with her. She felt a flow of pleasure out of proportion to the act of courtesy.

"Hi," he said, very quietly. "How about we start over?"

She stared at him, "Yes, please."

"Does that mean shopping and lunch later?"

She nodded.

"Good." He grinned at her. "I thought I was going to have a fight on my hands. I wouldn't have let you go, you know."

She wanted to ask him why, but she dared not. "I still don't think you put it very well," she said, determined to have her say before they put it behind them. "And that remark about Paul was uncalled for. But overall.." she hesitated.

"Overall?"

"There was some truth in what you said."

"Thank you," he grinned.

--

**Author's note: Thank you SO MUCH for the reviews again! Makes me super happy to know you guys like where this story is headed, because sometimes I find myself hating what I've written. It's nice to know that it isn't all complete rubbish. Don't worry about anymore hiatuses... I've already written the next 2 chapters. I'll be posting them daily from now on, so stay tuned and keep reviewing :)**


	15. Chapter 15

--

It was a new experience for Will to go shopping with a woman by choice and he found he kind of liked it, probably because the woman in question was Emma, he admitted to himself ruefully.

He purchased a fairly generic card for Emma's mother, and then watched with concealed amazement as she scanned all the different verses in the 'daughter to mother' cards on display. The one she eventually chose was surprisingly sentimental.

"She places a lot of importance on the words," she said somewhat defensively as they walked out of the shop. "She always kept the ones we made for her as kids. She still has them, I think."

While Emma had decided on purchasing a Louis XVI-style chair and matching footstool made from kiln-cured beech, the fabric being cream linen with velvet. Will had assured her that her mom would go crazy over the chair. Emma smiled, knowing he was probably right. Her mom had hinted at wanting something like it for years now and Emma had saved up enough money to finally get it for her.

Will had opted for a pair of exquisitely fashion silver earrings from a small jeweller's in the heart of the city. The tear-shaped drops were inset with onyx, the semi-precious agate used to dramatic effect against the metal. Emma had approved of his choice, saying that it was the exact sort of thing that her mother would love.

Later that afternoon, she had dropped the bombshell that they were in fact expected to attend a family party in honour of her mother's fifty-sixth birthday. They were sitting enjoying a relaxing cup of coffee in an enchanting little patisserie at the time.

"Nothing formal," she assured him, "just a casual get-together later in the evening."

"How casual?" he asked, his brain immediately going into overdrive.

"Food, drinks, maybe dancing."

"Where?"

"A local hotel, I think. I'll have to confirm with Rosie."

They arrived back at the house at six-thirty and were due at the hotel for drinks with the immediate family before other guests started arriving at seven-forty-five.

Emma tore up to her room like a mad man. She had less than an hour to transform herself into an elegant creature of the kind which might usually be found on Will's arm.

She was back downstairs at seven-fifteen; made up and feeling a lot more confident in the black and silver silk linen than she would have done in the usual casual dress she brought with her for evenings.

She found she had to take a deep breath at the sight of Will. He had dressed up in black dinner jacket and tie. He had been sitting waiting for her in the hall, one leg crossed over the other knee, and now he stood up at her approach. The blue eyes stroked over her in a way that made her hot.

"You look good enough to eat," he said softly. "But it's time to go, so I'll have to restrain myself."

"did you remember the present?"

"It's in my suit pocket. The jewellers wrapped it up especially," he said as he opened the door for her.

"Then we're set."

He smiled at her, taking her arm as they walked to the waiting taxi. Just for a moment, she saw them as an outsider would see them. A handsome man with a well-dressed woman on his arm. Elegant, glittering, the sort of couple who had everything. Funny how different things were in real life.

Once in the taxi, Will pulled her close, his arm around her shoulders. It was a nice way to travel, more than nice. She could detect the hint of primitive musky male beneath the clean, sharp aftershave he was wearing. It was a heady combination.

"Do you think your parents will suspect anything?"

"Not if you act the part well enough."

"What do you mean?"

"For tonight, you're Paul, the loving boyfriend. Don't forget that."

"So I get to be the loving boyfriend tonight?"

"You get to be Paul."

"I know," his smile was gentle. "And Paul was very lucky to have you."

"I doubt he thought that."

"You're beautiful, Emma, inside and out." He said softly. "And the strange thing is that you really don't think so."

"I'm not beautiful."

"You are." He kissed her. "Like a precious stone." Another kiss. "Or maybe even a shooting star." His lips were warm and erotic. "Or a cactus flower that only blooms every few years."

She wrinkled her nose, "cactus aren't very beautiful."

"But the flower is worth waiting for." This time he took her lips in a soul-stealing kiss that made her weak at the knees.

She hadn't expect this now, not here. But Will was the sort of guy who was full of surprises. Unable to speak for the violent pounding of her heart, she settled for a slight nod of the head.

He ducked his head to nibble at her neck. "That's not exactly the response I was looking for," he said after a moment or two when she had to bite her tongue to stop herself from moaning out loud, "but it's an improvement."

Just then the taxi bumped over a hole in the road and they were thrown even closer together, his arms tightening as her rounded curves pressed against his hardness. "Do you think we'd be missed if I told the driver to just keep driving all night?" Will murmured in her ear.

"Possibly."

When the taxi drew up outside the sort of hotel that featured in glossy magazines, Emma's nerves jangled. Would their plan work? Tonight was going to be torture. She found herself clutching Will's arm so hard he actually winced a little, at which point she let go. "Sorry."

"Just relax. We're supposed to be the perfect couple, remember?"

When they walked into the lounge bar, they were immediately greeted by Emma's family who waved and motioned for the two to sit down.

"This is Paul," Emma said as they approached the corner where three tables had been drawn together.

Will smiled at the blur of faces and everyone smiled back, then Emma was kissing her mother, father and cousins in greeting after the rest of the introductions were made. Emma's mother wasn't at all what Will had expected from her description. Instead of the fierce 'monster' Emma had described, a small, dainty and very beautiful woman smiled at him, kissing him on both cheeks before she said, "Paul, how lovely to see you again. I'm so glad you two could make it."

The rest of Emma's family were equally warm in their welcome. The only person who didn't seem pleased to see Emma was a voluptuous redhead whom Emma's mother introduced as, "Megan, my eldest daughter. Megan's a lecturer at the local university and doing awfully well. I don't believe you two have met yet."

Emma hugged her sister gingerly, noting the cool smile Megan gave her, and seeing the expression on her face change drastically when her green eyes fell on Will.

"So you must be the Paul we've all heard so much about. Funny why little Emma here didn't mention you sooner. I'm Megan, it's a _pleasure_ to finally meet you."

Emma kept her smile in place with some effort. So that's how things were gonna be? Megan had her sights set on Will, who she thought was Paul. She was practically devouring him with her eyes. Oh yes, Megan liked Will very much. In fact, the eldest Pillsbury sister had liked all of Emma's past boyfriends very much.

She watched as Will gave Megan a perfunctory kiss on the cheek, much as he had done with the rest of her cousins, before moving to shake hands with Ian and the rest of the Pillsbury family.

"Darling, my beautiful chair and stool. I love them, they're perfect." Emma's mother reached up and kissed her on the forehead, her eyes glowing. It was clear she was thrilled.

"Happy birthday, Mrs. Pillsbury." Will handed Emma's mother the small package from inside his suit jacket pocket.

"Oh, Paul. No need to be so formal. You can call me Gina. May I open it now?"

"Please do." Will would rather she'd waited until there wasn't quite such an audience, but as the tiny box revealed its contents, Emma's mother was delighted.

"They are exactly what I would've chosen," she said warmly.

All the time she was talking to one of her cousins, Emma was vitally aware of the two people at the perimeter of her vision, however. Will appeared to be his usual relaxed self from the odd glance she managed to throw his way, but Megan seemed to be talking very intensely, her voice low but her body language suggesting it wasn't a normal conversation. Had she found out that Will wasn't who he was making himself out to be?

After a few minutes, Will took the seat on Emma's other side, putting his arm around her shoulders as he leant across to join in discussion with Emma's dad about the disadvantages of being near the coast. He was doing a splendid job of convincing her family that he was in fact Paul. Neither of her parents seemed to suspect a thing!

It was around one o'clock in the morning when Will was having a last dance with her mother – her mother having stated a minute or so before that she had called a taxi to take her home but that the rest of them must continue enjoying themselves – but Emma found herself in a conversation about Megan with her cousin Rosie, whose eyes were fixed on her husband Ian and Megan, together on the dance floor.

"Look at her," Rosie said in an undertone, with the candidness that was typical of her. "She can't resist trying to bewitch every man who crosses her path. Poor Ian looks scared to death. He's not used to dancing with a praying mantis. Not meaning to be so offensive, love, but your dear older sister can be a bit of a.."

"Trust me, Rosie, I know."

Emma couldn't help laughing. Rosie's husband did have a hunted expression on his face. "I wonder why she didn't bring someone? I can't imagine she'd have any trouble finding a date."

"Because of _Will_, of course." And then Rosie clapped her hand over her mouth, "Sorry, forgot about that for a second... I mean, _Paul_. She didn't bring a date because of Paul."

Emma's stomach had done a flip, but she managed to keep her voice casual. "No, it's alright. I'd gathered she'd like him. He's not the first of my boyfriends that she's _liked_."

"Likes him?" Rosie eyed her grimly. "She's like a leech at any family gathering, especially when she knows you're taking a significant other. She did always love being the center of attention, even as a kid. I guess things haven't changed."

Emma kept her face bland even as her heart sank like a stone. She didn't like where this was going.

"Oh, but I suppose you shouldn't care anyway. It's not like he's _actually_ Paul."

Emma was silent, but her face must've given her away, because a moment later Rosie had her finger pointed at her with a look of amazement on her face.

"Oh my god! You _like_ him, don't you? Are you actually jealous of Megan and Will together?"

"No, don't be silly."

"Yes, you do! My goodness, it's written all over your face!"

"Shhhh! Rosie, keep quiet. Everyone's starting to look this way and I really don't want to attract attention to myself right now."

Rosie huddled closer and folded her arms over her chest, "fine, you don't have to admit anything, but let me just say that if you _do_ like this Will fellow, you better watch out for Megan. That's all I can say. I wouldn't trust her an inch, especially since she's got a bit of reputation when it comes to fancying what's yours."

"You don't like her, do you?" Emma stated the obvious.

"Loathe her." Rosie shrugged. "But your mother loves her, so what can I do? I actually feel sorry for her a bit, she seems so desperate sometimes. Anyway, I best be rescuing Ian from her clutches otherwise he'd never forgive me. Poor man."

Will's eyes were searching the room and then as he saw her, he lifted his hand and waved, leaving Megan and the group of people he had been talking to. Megan looked straight at her, her eyes deadly. Then Will reached her, taking her in his arms as he murmured, "I've missed you. We've been apart for five whole minutes. Your mom's going now, we should go say goodbye till tomorrow." They had all decided the family were going to her mom's place for Sunday lunch.

For the next hour or so until the party finally broke up, Will said and did all the right things. He laughed and joked with the others, danced with all her cousins and avoided Megan's lethal gaze.

On the way home, she pleaded exhaustion when Will asked her why she was so quiet, and, refusing a nightcap – which she was sure would be more than a mere cup of coffee if Will's smouldering gaze was anything to go by – went straight up to her room. And then regretted bitterly that she hadn't stayed with him.

She sat down on the bed with a little sigh, feeling as flat as a pancake. Which was crazy when she thought about it, because nothing had changed. Will had said he wanted her to want _them_, whatever that meant. Fine. He had probably said that to all the women he had dated. She _knew_ that, so what difference did it make if he and Megan had gotten close during the evening? Feeling upset and jealous was plain stupid.

It didn't matter that the only reason Will was there with her in the first place was because of Paul. It didn't matter that she was beginning to feel something for him, just like every woman before her. It didn't even matter that Megan was going to be at their parents place tomorrow for Sunday lunch where she'd no doubt find a way to grab Will's attention away from herself. None of it mattered, none of it _ever_ mattered.

She burst into tears.

One good cry, a scrub of her face and a brush of her teeth later, Emma climbed into bed, the exhaustion she'd spoken of real. It had been a long day after just a couple of hours' sleep the night before. She was asleep as soon as her head touched the pillow.

--

A good night's sleep worked wonders. Emma awoke wide awake and alert at nine in the morning, and she was in a different frame of mind entirely. Climbing out of bed, she walked across and drew the curtains and immediately bright sunlight flooded the room. It was another gorgeous day.

She wasn't going to let all this stuff about Megan get her down. She turned from the window, staring across the room. She _wished_ she'd stayed downstairs with Will last night, but there you were, she hadn't. She groaned softly. No use crying over spilt milk. But today was another day. And she was here in the villa with him and Megan wasn't.

That was when the idea came to her. Will had brought her tea in bed yesterday morning, why didn't she return the favour? And maybe after..

She hurried into the bathroom, had a quick shower and then brushed her hair until it shone with health. She hoped he wasn't awake yet, but they had been terribly late last night and it _was_ a Sunday. He was probably still sound asleep.

Her nightie was a floaty negligee type which consisted of very little, a gift from her dear cousin Rosie a couple of Christmases ago. She knew it was one of those horribly expensive designer things, but she had never worn it until this weekend. She considered herself critically in the mirror. What the transparent film did to her body would have been enough to make her love her cousin for life if she didn't already.

Emma sped down to the kitchen with wings on her heels, hoping Will wasn't already there. He wasn't. She made a pot of tea in record time, setting a tray with two cups and saucers, sugar bowl and milk jug, and adding a little plate of biscuits for good luck.

She had actually got to the door of the master suite when she stopped abruptly. What was she doing? Was this a good idea? She was going against all reason here. Hadn't she told herself that if she once got totally involved with Will it would be emotional suicide? What would she do when he left her? And one day he _would_ leave her.

It was too late anyway. She answered herself with total honesty. She loved him. Utterly and absolutely. She wanted to be with him for as long as he would stay with her. It was as simple as that. It probably was the biggest mistake she would ever make in the overall scheme of things, because she didn't know how she'd survive when she had to do without him, but that was the future. This was the present. And the present was all that mattered.

She opened the door to the bedroom very quietly, tiptoeing into the room and over to the enormous bed. It was empty. She stared at it, utterly taken aback. And then she heard whistling in the bathroom.

Putting the tray on a small table, she walked over to the bathroom door, which was open a chink. She didn't think about what she was doing, she was just drawn there by an invisible cord.

Will had obviously just stepped out of the shower and was drying himself down. Naked. Emma's heart did the sort of giant leap for mankind the astronauts had spoken of.

Nearly six foot of lithe, slightly tanned muscle and he was breathtaking, that was the only word for it. The wide shoulders and broad chest were strong, his hips lean. He was a perfect specimen of manhood. A male in his prime.

Emma had stopped breathing. She was just looking. And looking. And then it dawned on her just what she was doing. Invading his privacy, spying on him, behaving like the worst sort of peeping Tom. What would she say if the tables were turned and she had caught him sneaking up on her?

She swallowed, panic rising up hot and strong as shame overwhelmed her. Stepping backwards, she stood trembling and weak, her cheeks flaming but her senses still stirred by the magnificence of him. She had to get out of there. She would die, die on the spot if he found her ogling him like a lovesick adolescent.

As the whistling stopped it prompted her to the door like a silent rocket and she shot along to her room with her feet hardly touching the ground. Once inside, she flung off the nightie, pulling on the first clothes which came to hand, which happened to be jeans and a T-shirt. Stopping just long enough to pull her hair back into a loose bun, she ran back to the kitchen.

She had to be cooking breakfast when he came down. He had to think she had just put the tray in his room and come down here. And then she groaned. Two cups. Two cups of tea on the tray. Well, she'd just say she thought he was probably thirsty in the mornings. She shut her eyes tightly. He would think she was mad, but that was better than thinking she was some sort of sex-starved nymphomaniac!

She got busy cracking eggs into a bowl and putting bacon and tomatoes under the grill with a couple of minute steaks she found in the fridge. The toaster doing its job, the coffee pot bubbling and fresh juice on the table, she relaxed for a second, though her hands were still shaking.

What had she been doing creeping about up there? That wasn't her, she wasn't like that. But that was the trouble, she didn't know what she was like anymore. Since she had gotten to know Will more, her whole world had been turned upside down and she didn't know if she was coming or going most of the time. And thinking she could seduce him with a flimsy nightie and a tray of tea! She groaned softly. She was definitely, definitely going crazy.

"What's the matter; are you feeling ill again?"

She swung around, knocking a pile of toast on the floor in the process. "You made me jump," she said breathlessly, trying to see him as he was – clothed in jeans and a shirt – rather than stark naked.

"Sorry, but you made a sound as though.."

"I was thinking about a student I've had trouble helping out." She was lying more and more since she had met him too. She wasn't even getting better at it if the look on his face and his raised eyebrows were anything to go by.

"Right." Thankfully he didn't pursue the matter. "Do you want me to do the scrambled eggs, because the bacon's burning," he said helpfully.

"Darn!" She couldn't even cook a simple breakfast now. Between them they salvaged the bacon and cooked the eggs, and once they were sitting down Will reached across the table and took her hand.

"The tea in bed was nice of you," he said softly, "but I was hoping the other cup had been intended for you."

Emma forced a brittle smile. "Of course it wasn't." She knew her cheeks were fiery and hoped he'd put it down to the mad scramble with the food. "I wanted to cook breakfast for you. You did it yesterday, remember?"

"That's true."

"And I thought we wouldn't want to eat too late if we're going to my parents place for lunch."

"Right."

"So that's why I got started on it."

"Yeah... you don't have to spell it out. I've got the general idea."

She was gabbling. She crammed a piece of bacon into her mouth to stop herself saying anything more. It was hot, burning hot. She spat it out as her tongue caught fire and then said, "I'm sorry, that's awful, but it was hot and.."

"Emma, have I missed something?"

"What? She stared at him, horrified. "What do you mean?"

"You're acting very strange this morning."

She relaxed slightly. "It's sleeping in a strange bed," she improvised hurriedly. "I never sleep well in a strange bed and then when I wake up I tend to be a bit... jumpy."

"Oh, I see." He took a bite of bacon and chewed it slowly, swallowing before he said lazily, "I thought it was because you saw me in the shower."

She stared at him, utterly lost for words.

"I didn't mind," he added calmly, reaching for a slice of toast and spooning some scrambled egg on it. "In fact, I think I enjoyed it. Of course, I would have preferred you to stay, but by the time I came into the bedroom, you'd vanished."

He knew. She prayed for the ground to open up and swallow her, or at least for her to be able to think of something to say rather than sitting staring at him with her mouth open like a stranded fish. Eventually she managed to croak, "It's not what you think."

"I don't think anything." The blue eyes held hers and they were glittering with suppressed laughter. "This is an excellent breakfast, by the way. You've cooked it just how I like it."

Emma gulped. "I thought I'd give you a cup of tea in bed as you'd brought me one yesterday," she said stiffly. "As I was leaving, the door was open a bit and I just happened.."

"Ah. I thought that might be the case."

She stared at him. "You didn't actually see me then?"

"Of course not." He smiled. "Do you think I wouldn't have pulled you in there with me if I'd seen you?"

"Then how?"

"The two cups of tea were something of a give-away." He was positively smug. "I just put two and two together."

Emma fought the urge to cover her face in her hands. "Can we change the subject, please?" she said through clenched teeth.

"Alright. You start."

"... well, you were a hit with the family last night. They all loved you, no one suspected a thing."

"What about your mother?"

"especially her. Truly, Will, you did a fantastic job last night. I think they'll be sad to see you go."

"I don't have to go."

She looked at him, but decided not to pursue that line of conversation.

He reached out and took her hand, lifting it to his lips in one of the little endearing gestures she found so special. "This doesn't have to be temporary, Emma."

She shook her head. "Yes, I'm afraid it does actually."

There was a contemplative pause before he said, "Emma, you'd tell me if something was wrong? If someone's upset you, right?"

How could she tell him that she wanted him for as long as he'd let her? That Megan was actually much more suited for him than she'd ever be? After all, Megan was the prettier, more charming sister. Emma was the bland, boring girl who men often failed to notice. It was the same thing with Megan, she'd get bored with the men in her life so she'd always come in and steal the men in Emma's life... which was partly the reason she had failed to introduce her to Paul in the first place. And now she was unknowingly going after Will, but how could Emma tell him that?

She couldn't bear to look at him a moment more without saying something they would both regret. She took her hand away and reached for her coffee cup instead, beginning to make light conversation about work and other things.

After breakfast, Will loaded the dishwasher while she wiped the table in the breakfast room, and then they went for a stroll in the grounds to work off the breakfast. The gardens were beautiful, holding almost every different colour in a select range of flowers. They wandered aimlessly about, simply enjoying each other's company. These were the moments that Emma cherished the most. They were quiet and special. For once, her head wasn't spinning with a million thoughts and her heart wasn't being assaulted by a torrent of different emotions. They were together, they were content. It seemed like the outside world couldn't touch them. These moments were moments that only _they_ shared.

Perhaps she had been wrong. She might appear to be sure about where she was going and what she wanted from life, but the self-analysing she'd done since spending time with Will had shown her she was still the shy, nervous little girl who had been programmed never to reach out to anyone. And she didn't want to live the rest of her life like that. Whatever happened between her and Will, she didn't want to carry on the way she had been. It was a startling bold of self-discovery.

He touched her mouth tenderly with his finger, his voice deep and holding a note of something she couldn't quite discern.

She glanced at him, her eyes narrowed against the brilliant sunlight dappling the garden as she searched his face. But before she could say anything, he turned, pulling her out of the garden and shutting the gate behind them.

"It's twelve o'clock," he said practically. "We've got half an hour to get changed and make it to your parents."

"Oh, my goodness." She hadn't realised how late it was; the time had flown. It always flew when she was with Will.

Instead of rushing off, he took her into his arms, kissing her hard until she relaxed against him. "I want us to talk when we get back tonight," he said, raising his head and stroking her mouth with his lips as he spoke. "We can't go on like this. You realize that, don't you?"

She looked back at him and her eyes were dark with the desire he had aroused, that and the slight chill she'd felt at his words. Had he finally got tired of her? Had seeing Megan made him realize he couldn't be bothered to deal with someone who had so many hang-ups, someone who was such an emotional mess? And then she caught the thoughts. She was doing it again, she thought wretchedly, letting the anxious, uncertain little girl out of the closet. She nodded, trying to remove and trace of her fear from her voice when she said, "Yes, I know."

"Good. No argument, then?"

"No argument." She whispered weakly.

--

**Author's note: thanks again for the reviews! When I woke up this morning to find them in my inbox, I was overwhelmed. And to answer your questions..**

** - Terri and Paul will come back into the picture a little later on. Don't worry, I haven't forgotten about them.**

** - The M rated chapters will definitely happen, but I'm waiting for the right moment. I hardly think it would be in character for Emma to jump into bed with Will straight off the bat, and Will definitely wouldn't force Emma. Don't worry, there'll be some Wemma, but you've just gotta wait a little longer :)**

** - I don't want to give too much away, but at the moment Emma is finding it hard to convince herself that being with Will is the right thing. She's a very unsure, shy sort of person, that's why she's constantly love-Will hate-Will. Suspense! Will on the other hand just wants Emma. He just wants her to stop doubting herself first.**

**Again, thank you so much for the reviews, I really appreciate them. Chapter 16 has already been written, but I definitely want to keep my posting to 1 chapter a day, possibly 2, but never more than that. I like the suspense.**


	16. Chapter 16

Emma's parents house turned out to be a rambling old place, beautifully furnished with some lovely antiques but the carpets were worn in places and the sofas were the type where you didn't have to worry about dropping cake crumbs. Vibrant colours, lots of big pillows, magnificent paintings on the walls – some of which were Gina's own – and a general air of the house being a home rather than a showpiece. Suddenly Will knew where Emma got her caring side from.

Will and Emma had arrived first, and then Rosie and Ian had joined them within a few minutes, their twins politely shaking Will's hand before they disappeared to the end of the garden for a game of hide and seek with their dad. All of the family pets, which mostly consisted of stray cats thanks to Gina's over-hospitality, joined in on the game with the twins and suddenly the house became a lot noisier.

Jenny and Rod, Rod being Emma's younger cousin and Jenny being Rod's wife, arrived next with their son Chris. Within seconds, the din in the garden had increased tenfold and Jenny smiled at Emma over the top of her wineglass.

It was another half hour before Megan appeared, and Emma knew instantly that her dear sister had timed her entrance for maximum effect, knowing everyone would be there. She looked stunning, her hour-glass figure filling out a low-cut black linen cocktail dress and her red hair styled in flirty fullness about her face. Red lips and talons completed the picture of a lady who meant business.

The men were all occupied with the barbeque and the women, having brought out the salads, French bread and all the extras, were sitting having another glass of wine when Megan walked into the garden by way of a side gate at the end of the house.

"Wow." Jenny was sitting by the side of Emma now in the swing seat, and her eyes widened. "Impressive. Tarty and over-the-top and totally without taste, but impressive."

Emma's mother jumped up at her eldest daughter's entrance, hurrying to meet her and then escorting her to a chair and fetching her a glass of wine. Emma schooled her face into a smile as Megan glanced her way but then, to her shock, her sister looked straight through her.

Whether Jenny had noticed the little exchange, Emma wasn't sure, but the younger woman had a definite edge to her voice when she drawled, "won't you be a little warm in that today, Megan? Black's not ideal when it's so hot."

Megan's lovely green eyes were cold as she looked at Jenny. "I don't feel the heat."

"Lucky old you." Jenny grimanced. "Still, I dare say Gina could find you an old cardigan or something if you start to burn."

Megan raised perfectly shaped eyebrows before turning and engaging in conversation with one of their older cousins, although Emma noticed her sister's gaze was fixed on the men at the barbeque. Or one man in particular.

The afternoon passed pleasantly enough. They all ate too much; the children wound the cats up more and more until Gina banished them into the house – the children that was, not the cats – until they calmed down. They drank wine, glasses of homemade lemonade, which were absolutely delicious, talked, even dozed a little. It was relaxed and comfortable, or it would have been if Emma hadn't been aware of every single glance Megan sent Will's way. And there were plenty.

To be fair, Will seemed quite oblivious to the other woman's concentrated attempts to get his attention. Even when her sister had managed to brush up against him several times, ostensibly while fetching more food from the barbeque, which Will was in charge of, he barely spoke to Megan. He was courteous but cool, Emma noticed. And she didn't know if that was a good or bad thing. Did it speak unfinished business with Megan? Of something bubbling away under the surface? Maybe he _was_ interested, she couldn't quite tell.

Rosie and Ian left just after tea time to take the twins home, declaring the two little girls would need at least an hour to settle down before they could put them to bed. "They adore playing with your mother's cats," Rosie said as she hugged Emma goodbye, "but they do get over excited." Then, her voice soft, she added to Will, "It was really nice meeting you _Paul_. You're so good for Emma. I've never seen her so happy."

Emma stared at the other woman, taken aback.

Will simply smiled, hugging Rosie back and shaking Ian's hand, "thank you." He didn't know what else to say.

They had all wandered out to Rosie and Ian's car to wave the little family off, and once indoors Emma let the others walk through to the garden and disappeared to the downstairs cloakroom. It was as she was leaving it that she stopped dead as she heard Megan's voice somewhere near.

"Come on, Paul, you have to listen to me. I can't bear being apart from you. Don't you feel it too? I saw it the moment we first met last night."

"You really shouldn't be talking like this, Megan."

"I know that you want me, I can see that! Admit it, Paul. Let's leave right now, no one will notice."

"Megan, don't start this here. Anyone could walk in." Will's voice was cold, flinty.

"Who? _Emma_? Darling, you'll be bored with her in a month or two. I guarantee it."

"Leave Emma out of this. I'm talking about us _not_ having _anything_. Whatever you're looking for, it's not me. Never was."

"You wanted me last night." It sounded sulky.

"We shared a few laughs, a dance or two, but that's it," Will ground out stonily.

Emma found she was holding her breath.

Then Megan said, a different tone to her voice now, "we're two of a kind, Paul, you and I. You'll never settle down with a girl like Emma, just like I'll never settle down with just _any_ man. But we could at least have some fun for a while."

"Thanks, but no thanks."

"Because of _her?_" Megan said petulantly.

"Because I don't want you. End of story."

"I'm always around when you grow tired of little Miss Clean Freak. You only have to pick up the phone and call and I'll drop everything."

"I imagine you would." It was said drily, the double meaning clear, and Emma waited to see how her sister would respond.

Surprisingly there was a reluctant giggle before Megan murmured, "You're a wicked man, Paul, but irresistible. I shall live in hope."

She couldn't hear Will's reply to this because they were moving away, presumably going into the garden. Emma stood quite still. He didn't want Megan, at least she knew that now, but from all that had been said, her sister was his type of woman. Two of a kind, Megan had said. The kind who didn't need long-term, the type who wasn't emotional and needy.

Her heart was thumping madly and she put her hand to her chest. But she had known all along that Will would get bored of her eventually, so why did she feel so devastated now? Just because he had let her into his life to some extent, had been tender, understanding, it didn't mean he had magically changed into the sort of man who would want _her_. He wasn't a cruel or manipulative man like Paul had been; of course he would be gentle and sympathetic to the woman he was seeing.

She stood for a few minutes more, knowing she had to get a handle on how she was feeling before she joined the others. Then, when she really couldn't delay any longer, she lifted her head and marched out into the garden.

"Hi." Will rose immediately as she walked through the French doors onto the patio. "I was beginning to wonder if you were alright," he said, reaching her in three long strides.

She smiled up at him, into his blue eyes that had the power to make her dream impossible dreams and long for what she could never have and hadn't even known she what she wanted before she met him. Because with Will she wanted it all. Commitment, marriage, babies, forever. But it wasn't going to be.

"As you can see, I'm fine," she said softly, loving him and knowing she had to leave him.

When she had heard Megan confirming all her worst fears, she knew she had been fooling herself. She wouldn't be able to continue seeing Will, sleep with him, stay at his house and he at hers, and then be able to get on with her life when it finished. It would break her. This way it would be crucifying, she knew that, but at least it would end cleanly without dragging on and turning into something which ultimately would be distasteful to him and shameful for her. She didn't want him to remember her begging him not to leave her and falling to pieces, and she would if she let this continue.

Rod and Jenny took their leave shortly afterwards along with Megan, the latter kissing Gina's cheek, giving Will a swift but full kiss on the lips before he could object, and smiling a tight, little smile at Emma.

Emma didn't smile back. "Goodbye, Megan," she said politely, keeping her gaze steady and cool. After a moment or two, Megan tossed her head, muttering something about it having been nice to see her again and without further ado left.

--

Will glanced around at the remains of the barbeque and the general mess. Then he looked at Emma's mother. Gina _did_ look tired. "Why don't I make you some tea and then Emma and I will clean up a bit while you put your feet up?" he suggested quietly.

Gina protested a bit but not too much, which spoke volumes. Once he fed all the cats, Will handed Gina her tea and Emma and himself got to work.

Once they had loaded the dishwasher with the first lot of dirty dishes and utensils they set about restoring order in the garden. By the time they had cleaned the gas barbeque, sluiced down the tables and one or two of the chairs which were sticky with lemonade spilt by the children and put all the toys in the small outhouse Gina used for that purpose, the second dishwasher load was purring away.

While Will washed all the animals' bowls in the deep stone sink in the utility room and put them away, Emma whipped over the surfaces in the kitchen and tidied up.

"We make a good team." Everything finished, Will came through to the kitchen and put his arms around her, nuzzling his face into her neck as she stood looking out of the kitchen window into the gathering twilight. Emma felt unbearably sad.

She turned into him, laying her head against his throat for a moment but not saying anything, and his arms tightened around her. They stood together in the quiet of the house for some time before Emma stirred, her voice husky as she said, "we ought to go and leave my mom in peace." It was strange, but in all their passionate times she had never felt so close to him as she had for the last few minutes.

Gina was dozing as they entered the sitting room, an array of cats at her feet, one of them even snoozing on her lap.

"Don't get up," Will said, smiling. "We'll see ourselves out." He bent over the back of the sofa and kissed the older woman's cheek.

"You'll come again soon?" Gina asked. "Just the two of you for dinner so we can get to talk a little."

Emma kept her smile in place with some effort as the sadness increased. She would have liked to come again with Will, giving him a chance to get to know her parents better. Without even realizing that Will wasn't actually Paul, they instinctively loved him all the same.

--

Once they were in the car and on their way back to the 'hotel' to pick up their things, Emma turned to Will, "that was nice of you, to offer to stay and clear up. I appreciate it and my mom did too."

"It's alright," he smiled.

A terrible consuming emptiness was filling her. He had said he wanted to talk and she knew what he would say. He wanted to know how she felt about them as a couple, where she saw them going, what she envisaged happening between them in the next weeks and months. And that was fair enough. He had a right to expect some answers from her.

"Is anything wrong, Emma?" He flashed her a concerned glance, but she didn't respond for a moment. "Emma?"

"You... you said you wanted to talk about things earlier," she said flatly.

"What? Oh, right." His brow furrowed slightly. "But it doesn't have to be today. We're later leaving your mom's than I expected and we've got the drive back down. We can talk tomorrow."

"I'd rather it be tonight."

"You would?" They were just approaching the lane leading to the 'hotel'. "Okay... once we get in, why don't you pull your things together and put them in the car while I make some coffee. We can talk then."

She didn't wait for him to open her door when the car pulled up in front of the villa, jumping out with more speed than grace and nearly going flat on her back in the process. She saw the quizzical glance he shot her but pretended that she hadn't, rushing straight up to her room once he had opened the front door. Bundling her things into her case and clearing the bathroom of her bits and pieces, she was downstairs in a minute or two, stowing her case into the back of the car as Will suggested.

Then she stood for a moment on the drive, staring into one of the huge trees bordering the villa. _Life will go on after Will, I know that, but nothing will be the same. And I just don't know how I'm going to bear it._ Her thoughts were sad.

"All packed?"

He called her from the doorway and she lowered her eyes to his. He looked very big and dark standing in the shadows dappling the house, and in the strange half-light, she couldn't see the expression on his face. "All packed," she said, walking to join him and taking the hand he held out to her.

"Emma, what's wrong?" As they walked through to the sitting room he spoke softly. "You were fine earlier, but something has changed."

"You were right this morning."

"Right?" he said, puzzled.

"About us having to talk. We do." She sank down onto one of the sofas and watched him as he poured coffee from a tall white jug into slender china mugs. He added cream and sugars to hers and passed it to her before he sat down with his own beside her. She wished he had sat opposite her. She didn't want to say what had to be said with the feel of his thigh against hers.

"So you agree we have to talk," he said, and his voice had changed. The softness had gone and it was cool, wary, "why do I feel I'm not going to like this?"

"I don't think we can carry on seeing each other after this. I mean, with Paul and everything.." She hadn't meant to put it so badly, but really there was only one way to say it. "I don't think it will work."

There was absolute ringing silence for a moment. "May I ask _why_?"

"I told you at the beginning that I'm not ready for a relationship." She had decided in the car coming home that she wasn't going to tell him what she had overheard. He might get the wrong idea that she was trying to blackmail him into saying something he didn't want to say, that she was hinting he let her know that he wanted her in a different way to other women, that he was prepared to offer more. But she would never hold him to ransom like that. She went on with the lines she'd prepared. "The last few days... weeks.. have been good, but I'm getting behind with my work and the whole thing with Paul, he's probably worried sick. I.. I can't have that."

"And so I'm to be sacrificed at the altar for your career? _For Paul?_" he said silkily.

The tone didn't fool her. The body at the side of her had stiffened and tensed as she had talked on. She cleared her throat. "I wouldn't put it quite like that." Her voice had croaked on the last word and she took a sip of coffee to moisten her dry mouth.

"How would you put it?"

"We're different sorts of people, we want different things from life." For the first time she could speak the truth and, unbeknown to her, her voice carried the weight because of it. "We have had something great, I admit that, but if we go on we'd lose it."

He swore, just once, but explicitly. "Rubbish, I don't accept that. Is all this because I told you a few home truths the other night, because I got near? Is that it? I got under your skin and it rankles."

She put the coffee mug down on the table in front of them and stood to her feet. She had to put space between them. Then she turned to face him. "I'm sorry you think that, but it's not true."

"Neither is this garbage you're telling me." He rose slowly, without taking his eyes off her white face. "I've held you, damn it. Felt you quivering in my arms, moaning, begging me to take you all the way. Oh, not in so many words," he said, as she went to interrupt him, "but your body was saying what your mouth wouldn't admit. We're not so different, Emma."

"You're talking about sex."

"Yes, I am," he said with no apology in his tone, "and it's a damn good place to start. But there's more than that between us and you know it."

"Whatever is between us I don't want it to continue." She stared at him, desperate, her heart breaking. She had to go through with this now; it was the only way, so why did it feel so wrong, so cruel? She hadn't expected him to look at her the way he was looking now. It made her feel so horribly guilty. "You just want to.. to.. fuck me. And that's all. I'm not that type of.."

He looked at her in disbelief, the explicit word hanging between them. Then he smiled, "That's only half true. I do want to, how did you say, _fuck_ you. But not just."

"What on earth is that supposed to mean?" She asked meekly.

"I want to fuck you a lot." He said, "I want to fuck you constantly. I want to make love to you in a way that takes months and months. I want to make love to you after arguments and reconciliations. I want to kiss you at 5am in the morning before work, and then again in the evening."

Emma stood quite still, unable to do anything but let him continue.

"I want to fuck you like two people in love, staring into each others eyes and knowing that you'll be there in the morning. Every morning. I want to fuck you forever," he said. "I don't just want to fuck you at all."

There was a look on his face which made her want to cringe. He despised her. Hated her even.

"I thought... I thought you'd at least try and see it my way."

"And let you go back to Paul? Sorry to disappoint you." He said bitterly.

"Will, I didn't want it to end like this."

Her lip trembled but then he almost made her jump out of her skin when he barked, "_Enough_. No tears. Damn it, it'd be the last straw. Drink your coffee."

He walked out of the room without looking at her again, and she heard him go up stairs, presumably to his room. A minute later he came back with a jacket slung over his arm and, his face set, he said, "Are you ready to leave?"

She nodded, walking past him and then out of the villa to the car. He opened the door for her and shut it once she was in her seat, striding round the bonnet with a face like thunder.

She felt herself shrinking when he joined her, the only thought in her head being, how was she going to get through the next three hours until she was home?

--

The journey back was the sort of unmitigated nightmare Emma wouldn't have wished on her worst enemy – not even Megan. At least the mood Will was in meant that it didn't take as long as on the way there. In fact, he cut a good half an hour off the time, and he hadn't driven slowly before. Emma was sure she saw at least two or three cameras flash, but she didn't mention it.

When they reached her apartment, he got out of the car and fetched her case from the boot, walking with her to the front door. "I'll help you with your things."

"You don't have to." She had been fighting the tears all the way home and her voice was a husky whisper.

"Just open the damn door."

Emma was all fingers and thumbs with the key hindered as she was by the mist in her eyes, but eventually the door was open and she walked into the lounge, Will behind her/

"Here." He handed her the case, his face cold.

He headed back towards the front door.

She couldn't let him go like this, she just couldn't. Her face tragic, she said, "I'm sorry. I mean it, Will, I'm so.. so sorry."

"Go, Emma." He said flatly.

"Will, please.."

"What the hell do you want from me, woman?" he growled before an answering growl came from the neighbours house.

Emma cast agonised eyes towards the Garcia's house just as their dog Arthur went into full action, the sound of the big dog's savage barking horribly loud in the dead of the night. She could hear Will swearing above the din the Rottweiler was making, but before she could say anything the door to the Garcia House opened and there stood Mr. Garcia holding onto Arthur's collar, Mrs. Garcia standing behind him clutching what looked like a rolling pin.

Emma saw Will shut his eyes briefly.

"Emma, is that you?" Mr. Garcia peered into the dark, his eyes enormous behind the strong glasses he wore. "Is everything alright?" he shouted.

"Everything's fine, Mr. Garcia." She found she was yelling at the top of her voice to make herself heard.

"Are you sure, dear?" Mrs. Garcia screeched back.

"Quite sure."

Mr. Garcia was now in the process of trying to drag the dog back into the flat, but Arthur was having none of it. He hadn't had excitement like this for a long time, not since he had bolted Will over in the park.

It took both of the Garcias to manoeuvre the dog in enough to shut their door, Mr. Garcia pulling with all his might and his wife getting in front of Arthur and using her ample body as a sort of battering ram. Will stood watching them as though he couldn't believe his eyes, his arms crossed over his chest and his face dark.

Emma turned back to Will, who hadn't moved a muscle. "I didn't want us to part like this." She stared at him but the hard, handsome face didn't change. "I thought we could be.."

"Don't say _friends_."

"Civilised. I was going to say civilised."

"I can barely control myself around you, Emma, let alone 'be civilised'. I thought you knew that by now."

For a moment she couldn't speak.

"Go to bed, Emma." It was toneless. Final.

She opened her mouth to argue, but suddenly there was so much anger in his face that she shut it again. And then she saw him visibly get his temper under control again.

"I m mean it, Emma. Go to bed, before I do or say anything I'll regret."

Emma walked back into the lounge, turning off to go to her room. She heard the front door open and close. He had gone.

--

**Author's Note: Okay! I had to stop there.. sorry! For those of you who I know will be hating this, it had to happen. I mean, a man can only take so much before his pride gets wounded, and Emma needs her space too. She can't think with Will around. **

** - After I read all your reviews from the previous chapter, which I really appreciated by the way, I couldn't wait for tomorrow to post this chapter. I love hearing what you guys have to say, it makes me want to keep feeding chapters to you just so I can get your opinions. Definitely don't be afraid to discuss things! I like seeing the way you view the characters.**

** - Terri and Paul will come into play verrrry soon.**

** - Do you think the cursing/explicit language was so out of character for Will? I thought maybe it was and I was reluctant to add it, but I find that I don't actually mind it being there. What he said was sort of sweet in its own way..**

**- Review some more! I'm a bit stuck now, have no idea what to do with Will or Emma. I kinda want them to stay apart because their pain is so delicious (as horrible as that sounds), but we'll see ;)**


	17. Chapter 17

**The chapter's finally up!!!**

--

How long she had sat on the sofa in the living room with her bag at her feet, Emma didn't know. Eventually she rose, walking into the kitchen on legs that were shaky. She made herself a mug of milky coffee, carrying it back into the living room. Her hands cupped round the warmth of the mug, her brain seemed to kick in and come to life again. They were finished. She was never going to see him again. It was over. Why had she done it, why? She had made the biggest mistake of her life.

She swayed back and forth a few times, her eyes dry now she could cry at last. Suddenly the emptiness of what she saw before her was too consuming for the relief of tears. Her future was bleak at best. If she had stayed with him, who knew what the future might have held? He might've grown to love her like she loved him; he _might_. Anything was possible. People could change, mellow. He could've decided at some point down the line that he wanted more than a semi-bachelor existence. Marriage, even children might have presented themselves as attractive.

She finished the coffee before standing up and beginning to pace the room, twisting her hands in front of her like a demented woman. She had burnt all her bridges tonight, because Will was a proud man and he would never forgive her for this. Even if she begged him, he wouldn't take her back now.

How could she have done it? Why had she been so stupid? It had seemed so right earlier after she had listened to him talking to Margaret, but now it seemed just as wrong. She didn't understand herself. She didn't understand herself at all. Sure, he hadn't confessed his undying love for her, but they had spent time together and that was better than nothing..

After a while she forced herself to go into the bedroom and get undressed. She had a shower, standing under the warm flow of water for some time, but nothing helped the terrible grinding pain in her heart. After brushing her teeth, she pulled on an old pair of pyjamas that had seen better days, but which were fleecy and warm and climbed into bed. Half an hour later, she was back in the lounge, not knowing what to do with herself.

She would go see him in the morning. Eat humble pie. Crawl if necessary. She glanced at the clock. It was three in the morning. How was she going to endure the next few hours without going mad?

--

"I need to see Will.." Emma breathed.

"Have you been listening to a word I've said?" Rosie demanded. "What on earth makes you think he'd want to see you now?"

Emma flinched at the intensity of Rosie's questions. The truth was, Rosie had been fond of Will and when Emma had told her about what she had done, Rosie was beyond furious, overreacting, but still very, very mad.

She mumbled something, not wanting to look her cousin in the eye.

"Emma? Emma.. Emma, look at me! You know what you've done? You've gone and ruined possibly the best thing that could've ever happened to you."

"You don't know that.."

"I know damn well what I saw, and what I saw was love. He was completely smitten with you, couldn't keep his eyes, not to mention his hands, off you Emma. That was love, and love is rare to find... and _what did you do?_ You threw it away. You threw _him_ away. I can only imagine what the poor man must be going through.."

Her eyes were brimming with unshed tears, but she managed to keep her voice steady, "oh God, Rosie, I know.. I know.. I just wasn't thinking at the time. This whole thing with Paul.. and I was just scared.. he didn't... I didn't want to.. but he's gone now and I need to get him back! I love him, Rosie, I really, truly love him."

At Emma's confession, Rosie's eyes softened, "well.. I guess there's only one thing to do then."

"Hmm?"

"You need to go see him."

"But you _just_ said that he wouldn't want to see me.."

"Then _make him_."

"But I can't.."

"Emma, are you going to fight for him or not?"

"I guess.."

"Are you going to let _Paul and Terri_ win or _not_?"

"No. No, I won't let them."

Without another word, Emma hung up the phone and dashed out the door.

When she had heard Emma leave, Rosie put down the phone and sighed just as Ian walked into their lounge after having tucked the twins into bed.

"Who was that on the phone?"

"Just Emma."

"How's she doing?"

"Terribly. She dumped Will."

"Who's Will?"

"Oh... I mean _Paul_. She dumped Paul and now she wants him back."

"Crikey. You girls can be so complicated sometimes. First you want us, then you don't.."

--

Informed of Emma's arrival, Will rose and called a five minute break in the meeting he was currently in.

Able to view the petite redhead through the glass partition that surrounded the reception area, Will stilled on the landing above. In the vast, opulent space below, Emma looked small, slight and insignificant. She had obviously rushed to get there, for she seemed hurriedly dressed for someone so meticulous, her hair was a mess about her face and she only seemed half-put-together. In her current guise, she was not a woman likely to turn male heads at first glance, yet she possessed a luminous beauty not even the dullest presentation could conceal. His keen gaze lingered on the visible slice of narrow shoulder blessed with skin as opalescent as a pearl and moved onto the delicate perfection of her profile and the tantalising femininity of her slim, restive hands and slender ankles. A raw flame of desire blistered through him and rage at his own lack of self-control surged in its wake and made him ball his hands into fists by his side.

Deciding that Emma could wait, Will went back to his meeting. If he was going to face her again after what had happened, he'd need to be control of himself. First the meeting, then Emma.

Unaware that she had been under observation, Emma took a seat. She was flustered and uneasy at the covert stares she was attracting. On the way there, she had tried to contact Will by phone and failed – he had refused to pick up, she assumed. Fair enough, Emma thought, she was probably the last person on Earth Will would want to see right now.

--

At 4 o'clock, Will closed his meeting and asked one of the teachers to show Emma into his office. Having waited for almost three hours without a word of encouragement and with steadily shrinking expectations, Emma was hugely relieved to be escorted out of the reception area, but suddenly she found she had no idea what to say to him. She didn't know how to bridge the enormous chasm between them.

Flustered and unsure of herself, Emma walked into Will's office.

Will stood centre stage in his office, easily dominating his humble surroundings. All the oxygen Emma needed to breathe seemed to vanish into the atmosphere. Her mouth ran dry and her heart thumped. Colliding with his steel gaze was like falling into an electric fence. She was embarrassed and rather ashamed that at such a crucial moment she could still be so immediately aware of his magnetic attraction.

"So.." murmured Will, drawing out the single word in a way that sent a reflexive shiver down Emma's backbone. "What brings you here?"

Disconcerted entirely by his greeting, she was reduced to gaping at him in bewilderment, "but... you must know why I'm here!"

His eyebrow descended in polite disagreement, "I have no idea what you're talking about."

"What I did last night.." Emma responded tautly, for her extreme nervous tension was being heightened by an awful sense of foolishness.

Will shifted a fluid hand and spread dismissive fingers in a tiny movement. "So?"

Emma tried and failed to swallow past the lump lodged in her throat. "Naturally, I came to see you as soon as I could.."

Will vented a soft, amused laugh that nonetheless contrived to create a chill somewhere deep down inside Emma. "Naturally? Explained how this sudden uninvited visit of yours could possibly be considered as _natural_?"

Recognising the dangerous tension in the atmosphere, Emma was daunted. Her own nature was too open for her to comprehend Will's suddenly dark and aloof temperament. She considered their meeting of complete importance. His cool detachment disorientated her. "Will, please? Please don't be like this. I know that I've hurt you and you must think me the most horrible person, but I didn't mean what I said. I'm so sorry!"

"Don't make assumptions, Emma. You're not inside my head and you have no idea what I'm thinking. You tried doing that once, and look where it's gotten you."

"I know that you _must_ be very, very mad with me." Emma was too wound up to hold back the frantic bubbling to her lips. "I know you must hate me right now and blame me for everything that's gone wrong.. and that's okay. I'm only getting what I deserve," she conceded humbly.

"Don't waste my time with this," Will urged, cold as ice.

Emma raised anguished amber eyes to his and willed him to listen to her and recognise her sincerity. "Sorry isn't good enough and may even be horribly aggravating, but I have to say it.."

"Why?" Brilliant blue eyes met hers and rested on her blatant challenge, "I'm not really interested in hearing your apologies. You said everything you needed to say last night and didn't give me a chance in hell.. why should I give you one?"

"You wanted me a day ago and now.." Emma reminded him, but only half under her breath.

Will shrugged a wide shoulder in a gesture of magnificent disregard.

In the silence that stretched, Emma sucked in a deep, shuddering breath and pressed on. "You wanted me yesterday and now you don't want anything to do with me? I don't understand, Will. This doesn't make any sense.."

"What doesn't make sense is your clear rejection of me last night... oh? And suddenly you've gone and turned right around. Two can play at that game, Emma."

Emma fell back a step as if he had struck her. He had stripped the facts down to their bare bones and reached his own cruelly straightforward baseline.

"But it's not that simple.."

"I think it is."

"You won't let me apologise, will you?"

She was so earnest, so straightforward and dangerously naive, Will acknowledged. She was asking for trouble, inviting it in. Once upon a time he had planned to protect her from that sort of trouble, he reflected bitterly, it had never occurred to him that he would find himself being the source of the trouble. Sunlight distracted him from his brooding introspection as he studied her upturned face. The fine-grained perfection of her creamy skin illuminated amber eyes with the depth and clarity of jewels and a wide, soft, vulnerable mouth as inviting as a ripe cherry. His body reacted with infuriating immediacy.

"I don't know why you've come to see me." Will explained with a cutting lack of expression.

"Yes you do!" Emma reasoned tensely, cheeks hotly flushed with agonising self-consciousness.

"Maybe I don't want to talk about it then," Will fenced in a tone as smooth as black velvet.

"I don't know what to say.."

"Is it finally dawning on you that, like most couples that have broken up, we don't have that much to talk about."

"We were never really a couple though.."

"As good as, Emma." Will contradicted with an anger that flayed her to the bone.

Emma flinched. His eyes were dark, but although innate caution urged her to cut and run before she spelt out her intentions any more clearly, she couldn't bear to remain silent. The least she owed him was her honesty. "you're right... and I threw what we had away. But I've learned from it, Will. I was happy with you, I've never been so happy in my life. It's like I was on a rollercoaster, I didn't know what to think or say or do, but despite all the things that were running through my head, I was actually happy being _with you_. I don't think I could be happy without you.."

"That's sad, but nice to know," Will confided without a shade of remorse, imagining her slim, eager body splayed across linen sheets. It was enough to ignite his all too male libido.

Emma collided with brilliant blue eyes, her heart lurched as though Will had aimed a kick at it. Her breath trapped in her dry throat, her heartbeat pounding behind her ribs, her slight figure held taut with unbearable tension. She felt as if she was standing on the edge of a precipice, only the fear that gripped her was also laced with helpless longing. The desire she had tried to hide flared up as though someone had tossed a flaming torch on a bale of hay.

Her voice emerged husky and breathless as she forced herself to concentrate long enough to say what she knew she needed to say, "I have feelings for you... I always have. Even when I was with Paul, I tried denying it, tried getting over you, but I guess I was kidding myself. I want you to give me a chance.."

Intense satisfaction of the darkest kind engulfed Will when he was already on an angry high of lust, "You want me back?"

So tense her muscles were hurting, Emma jerked her chin up in affirmation. "Yes, I want you back," she repeated, fighting to remain unbowed by his lack of reaction, fighting not to feel diminished by her own humble admission.

The buzz of fierce sexual awareness had thickened the atmosphere.

"The feeling isn't mutual," Will lied, studying her ripe full mouth with fixed attention.

The truth was, Will was at war with himself. Here she was, the girl of his dreams, begging for him to take her back and all he could do was stop his pride from throwing her out of his office right now. She had hurt him last night, and he'd be lying if he said his male ego didn't want a little bit of revenge. He wanted Emma, more than she likely realized, but he wanted her to want him just as badly. If she wanted this to happen, if she wanted them to work, she'd need to fight for it like he fought for her. He realized last night after leaving Emma at her apartment, that the only way to get through to her was to fight fire with fire, as stupid as it sounded. He had tried to get through to her, tried to make her realize that she was worth it and that she was just as loveable as he thought she was, but it hadn't worked – she had still pushed him away.

Now here she was, fuelled by the aftermath. It wouldn't work to accept her offer now... she'd end up backing away again. No, what she needed to do was convince herself that it could work. She needed to change her whole view on relationships and self-worth if they had any chance. It was hard work, rejecting her like this, especially when he was not only fighting his emotions, but his intense desire for her too.

"But you could think about it, couldn't you?"

"I don't need or want to think about it," Will bit out in raw, harsh dismissal.

Trembling and striving to conceal her anguish, Emma dropped her head.

"On the other hand," Will grated out, "while our faux relationship might have been a mistake.."

"Don't say that," she urged, appalled by that brutal declaration given without hesitation.

".. I still wouldn't throw you out of bed."

Totally taken aback by that unanticipated completion and unable to immediately understand it, Emma looked up, the tip of her tongue snaking out to wet her dry lips, "Sorry... I bed your pardon?"

With the expertise of a male to whom no move was a challenge around a woman, Will reached out and closed his arms round her slight figure to propel her forward and demonstrate his meaning with action. Emma blinked up at him like a mesmerised owl. He bound her to him with strong hands and plundered her ripe mouth with a hot, hard sexual intensity that smashed her every barrier.

Reeling from the surprise of that passionate onslaught, she swayed. Clamping her to the hard, muscular heat of his lean, powerful frame, he backed her up against the wall behind her.

"Will.." she mumbled unsteadily, without any thoughts of resisting him. Surely this meant that they still had a chance?

"Want me?" he breathed.

"Always.."

In answer he kissed her as though he was devouring her. It was incredibly sexy. Her head swam and her lungs burned from lack of oxygen, but she held him to her with eager hands. Mad excitement and joy were coursing through her in a seductive tidal wave. Her body was molten liquid in response, flaming with the feverish heat she had never dreamt she would feel again. A dulled, nagging ache pulsed at the very heart of her, making her shift forward into instinctive closer contact.

An almost imperceptible shudder ran through Will. He wanted to lift her up against him and sink into the tight, sweet promise of her tiny body again and again and again until he had finally sated the blaze of desire coursing through him.

A knock at the door sent the two brushing off each other in haste.

"Mr. Schuester, are you in there?"

"Yes, just wait a second." Will looked at Emma, fixated on the slight swell of her breasts and her lips which had been reddened from his arduous attention.

"I suppose I'll see you tomorrow then.." Emma whispered quietly.

"Not at all. Why would you think that?"

"B-because y-y-you were.. kissing m-me." Emma stammered, taken aback by his sudden change of character.

Will shrugged his shoulders in casual indifference, "Kissing you is hardly reason to want to be in a relationship. I just couldn't help but remember how good it was.."

Floored by his harsh words, Emma blinked backed what felt like tears and rushed out of his office, leaving a very confused looking Finn at the door.

Will watched as she retreated, her red hair flying behind her. It had been hard doing that, but it was for her own good. The thought that she might not come back and that he had blown his chances lingered in his mind, but he had a plan and he had to stick to it.

He'd get Emma eventually.

--

**Author's note: I am so sorry for the wait.. I've just started back at school and I'm a bit busy, not to mention that I had complete writer's block when it came to this story. After a while thinking about it, I think I know where I'm making this story go. It's gonna be a bit like cat and mouse sometimes, so bear with me. Thanks to everyone who continues to read this and put up with my sporadic chapter posting :)**

**HOPE YOU ENJOYED IT!**


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